


My Clarity

by midnight_echoes



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lena Luthor, Braincorp Brotp, Canon-Typical Violence, Danvers Sisters, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Pansexual Kara Danvers, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26738851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_echoes/pseuds/midnight_echoes
Summary: Lena draped her left arm over Kara’s shoulder as the Kryptonian slowly began swaying them both.“What’s this?” Lena asked with a bemused smile on her face.“I don’t know,” Kara shrugged. “The music swept me up I guess.”“So you figured you’d sweep me up,” Lena retorted, her eyebrow slightly raised. Kara smiled and nodded then lifted Lena up slightly, twirling her around and setting her back down so that they were now in the more spacious living room.---With the help of Lena Luthor, the Super Friends have been able to stop Lex Luthor and save the world. Despite this, Kara's and Lena's relationship has hit another major setback, leaving their fragile friendship once again strained. And in true fashion both Kara and Lena are determined to push their feelings for each other deep, deep down.That is, until a run-in with a magenta menace with a penchant for scrambling minds forces all of Kara's feelings out into the open.
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Querl Dox/Nia Nal
Comments: 17
Kudos: 272
Collections: Supercorp Big Bang 2020





	My Clarity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zarazania](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarazania/gifts), [DivergentDemigodWiz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivergentDemigodWiz/gifts).



> Hi! I'm so excited to be a part of this Supercorp Big Bang! I hope everyone's enjoying all the fics and art. There's so many wonderful creators involved with this, I'm so very lucky to get to be a part of it with them.
> 
> I was exceptionally lucky to have two wonderful artists working on art for my story, please make sure to check them both out and leave plenty of love and kudos!  
> [Art by zarazania](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26928925)  
> [Art by DivergentDemigodWiz](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26888917)
> 
> This is actually my first Supercorp fanfic, despite being in the fandom forever. I hope you like it! 💖💙

_ It had taken days to find them, but there they were, Lillian and Lex Luthor, just a few yards away from Lena. The mother and son duo grumbled as they were escorted by armed soldiers onto an Argus transport truck, hands secure in some kind of high-tech handcuffs. The sight brought a smile to Lena Luthor’s face. _

_ A smile that was short lived. _

_ Turning away from her family, Lena saw the Super Friends, Supergirl, Alex, Dreamer, and J’onn, embracing and hugging one another. Only Kelly was missing, who had remained at the Tower to help a still-recovering Brainiac 5 with logistical support. _

_ The scene caused Lena to tense up. Over the last few years, before she knew Kara’s secret, before everything went to shit, these people had become her family. More than anything in that moment, Lena wanted to be a part of that family again. Yet she hesitated. It had been a busy few days, with ups and down, and Lena still wasn’t sure where she stood with them. _

_ Kara was the first to notice that Lena was looking at them. Something of a hopeful smile flashed on Lena’s face as Supergirl began strolling towards her. _

_ “Thank you,” Kara said as she got within earshot of Lena. “We couldn’t have done this without you.” _

_ As a Luthor, Lena had been taught to regard compliments with an air of disinterest. After all, a Luthor was exceptional, and a compliment was nothing more than a sign that someone had made the mistake of underestimating you. While, in her heart, Lena knew that kind of thinking was where most of the Luthors’ more negative traits stemmed, it had worked well for her during college and as a CEO. _

_ It was different with Kara, though. The only thing compliments from Kara ever did was make Lena’s stomach do somersaults as her entire body would be flush with heat. _

_ Lena dipped her head as she giggled. “I just wanted to help,” she murmured, trying to compose herself. _

_ The Girl of Steel leaned her head slightly to the side. “No, for real, thank you, Lena,” she softly reiterated. Kara’s hands were clasped in front of her as she slowly rocked side-to-side. Then, Kara’s arm began to swing up. _

_ Over the last few months, one thing had stuck out to Lena more than just about anything else: she missed Kara’s hugs. She missed that feeling of warmth that engulfed her, missed how comfortably her head slotted into the crook of Kara’s neck, missed the flutter she would feel in her chest when a hug would last a little longer than they probably should have. One was coming, Lena could feel it. The Luthor was going to be more than happy to receive it. _

_ It made sight of the hand hovering in front of Lena that much more confusing. Her eyes followed the arm back to Kara, who stood there, a weary smile on her face. Slowly, Lena slipped her hand into Kara’s. The handshake lasted just a couple of seconds. _

_ There was a pause between them. Lena raised one eyebrow as she stared mostly blank faced at Kara. _

_ “Say,” the blonde began. She kept rubbing one of her own palms with the other hand’s thumb. Kara brought her blue eyes up to see Lena’s green ones. “Some of us were going to…” she started, but trailed off as her line of sight dropped back down. Kara’s brows furrowed as she began chewing on her lip. The anticipation was killing Lena. _

_ “... Sorry. Nevermind,” Kara finally finished. _

_ “Oh,” Lena breathed. Suddenly that tension from a few minutes ago was back. _

_ “We should… catch up sometime,” Kara said, her tone becoming more upbeat. _

_ All Lena could think to do was nod. _

_ Slowly, Kara began backing away. “Well, I should get going.” _

_ “Right,” she weakly agreed. _

_ Supergirl stopped. She bit her lip again, and gently nodded. “Have a good night, Lena.” _

_ There were so many ways Lena had wanted to say “stop!” in that moment, but the rollercoaster that her emotions had just been on made her indecisive, just long enough so that by the time she had decided on “please don’t go,” Supergirl had already launched up into the air and disappeared into the sky. _

_ Lena stood there for a moment, staring into the empty night, her jaw clenching. _

_ They had spent a lot of time together over the last few days, Lena and Kara. Most of it was devoted to working on finding Lex and Lillian. Even after forgiving Lena, Kara had been slow to warm up to her. Each day it was getting better; a warm smile here, a silly joke there, they were getting there, back to something like normal. They weren’t all the way back yet, but the effort was there, and that had been enough for Lena. _

_ Except now Lena couldn’t help but wonder if she had misjudged the last few days entirely. She screwed her eyes shut as the cool air of the night passed over her skin, icy and uncaring. Not far behind her, Argus soldiers were cleaning up the remnants of the battle that had recently occurred there. Less than a block away, the bustle of National City roared on. _

_ Noises from every direction swirled around the Luthor, who remained there… _

_…_ _ Completely alone. _

* * *

It was dusk in National City, the last rays of sunlight glimmering off the windows of the city’s tallest skyscrapers. Those same sun rays caught the lowball glass that was secured loosely in Lena’s hand, bringing out amber highlights in the brown scotch. The Luthor was leaning back slightly in her desk chair, staring idly at her laptop that had an email congratulating her on becoming the newest CEO of LuthorCorp on the screen. It was the latest of dozens of such emails that had trickled in to her over the course of the day. On Monday it would all be made official, and according to Lena’s plans, by the end of Tuesday work on rebranding the company to L-Corp would be well underway.

Lena took a long sip from the lowball, sloshing the ice and scotch around as she drew back. Her nostrils flared as she huffed out a breath. The rebranding to “L-Corp” was already being met with resistance, even though only a handful of people currently knew. Lena wasn’t worried about it, though. She knew it was the right move. After all, she had done all this already; but this time, she knew all the mistakes to avoid. The thought pulled a long sigh out of the raven-haired woman. Her life had become one big redo, and it was fraying on Lena’s nerves.

Here she was, in the middle of uncertainty and upheaval, Lex rotting in jail as the world was exposed to what a monster he was. Somewhere Kara Danvers was toiling away at an expose that would chronicle Lex’s descent into madness. Lena chuckled. It wouldn’t be a surprise to her at all if Kara earned a Pullitzer for her article on Lex. Again. A year later and it felt like Lena was in the same exact place she had been, right down to thoughts of Kara bringing her emotional turmoil.

A knock on her door pulled Lena out of her spiraling. It wasn’t Jess, Lena had sent her poor, overworked assistant home over an hour ago. That left one other obvious candidate in Lena’s mind, causing the raven-haired Luthor to snap upright in her chair. One hearty swig finished off the scotch before she closed the email and rose to her feet. Lena took a second to adjust her gray pinstripe blouse and fitted black slacks before making her way around her desk.

“Come in,” Lena shouted as she tightened her ponytail.

The heavy, wooden door opened slowly as Querl Dox, also known as Brainiac 5, entered the room. The Coluan was walking with a slight limp, a lasting effect of the injuries he sustained while stopping Leviathan. Unlike most guests that enter Lena’s office, Brainiac 5 was dressed decidedly unprofessionally; loose fitting blue jeans and a well-worn t-shirt for the band The Smell.

Nevertheless, Lena couldn’t help but smile at his appearance. “Brainy! I’m so glad you could make it,” Lena chirped as she approached, a wide, dimpled smile on her face. Before Brainy could even extend his hand, Lena had engulfed him in a loose hug that lasted a few seconds.

“Yes. It is… good to see you as well,” Querl stated, a slight smirk on his face as his fingers pressed together, forming an arch in front of his stomach. Since recovering from his near death experience, the random modulation in his voice that had gone away when he removed the inhibitors, had returned. Thankfully, that and the lingering limp were the only remaining effects from his ordeal.

“Ready for another long night?” the Luthor asked, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.

Brainiac 5 arched up one of his eyebrows, the smirk on his face growing. “The Earth custom of using violence to show affection continues to baffle me.”

“Just one of humanity’s delicious little mysteries,” Lena responded, a playful smile on her face as she folded her arms.

“Hmm,” Brainiac 5 simply hummed. He lowered his gaze as the bridge of his nose crinkled, clearly pondering Lena’s remark. After a few seconds, a small frown worked its way onto the Coluan's face. “Yes, there is much about humans that remains a mystery to me.”

Lena shoved a computer tablet into Brainiac 5’s field of vision. “Well, then it’s a good thing that tonight’s all about machines,” she said in a soft tone. Brainiac 5 looked up at her and simply smiled as he took the tablet.

* * *

There were dozens upon dozens of research labs in the LuthorCorp building. Many of them, either due to the layout of the building, or safety concerns, were completely windowless. Lena appreciated that Lab LL12-B did have windows, large ones that ran the length of one side of the room. Bright moonlight spilled in, highlighting the long metal work table that was butted up against the wall just below the windows, with a cool glow. The young Luthor took a moment to appreciate the sight of the bright orb that lit up the clear night sky. It seemed like a peaceful night, a rarity for National City. After a moment, she began to wonder if she would see a Supergirl sighting if she stared out the window long enough. Lena couldn’t tell which answer to that question would make her happy.

Before Lena could get fully ensnared by the moment, a loud crash echoed behind her. She whipped around, her ponytail swinging wildly.

“I am unharmed!!” Brainiac 5 exclaimed. He was halfway across the lab, standing in a defensive position, with his arms up as if he was about to karate chop something, just a couple feet from a work table. On the table was some kind of metal box, that was billowing black smoke with holes in its sides blown out. There were scorch marks around the box on the table, all expanding out from it. Littered on the ground around the table were various scraps of metal that had been knocked off.

It was a serious lab accident, Lena knew that. Even with that knowledge, she wasn’t able to contain a chuckle as she tucked her tablet under her arm and began sauntering over to the scene. By the time she had arrived Brainy had already retrieved a fire extinguisher and was dousing the smoldering contraption.

“Well done, Mr. Dox,” Lena said flatly, slow-clapping the entire time. Yet the wide, dimpled smile on her face told her true feelings.

Brainy held up the fire extinguisher and grinned. “There is… perhaps an irony to the fact that Lex was so meticulous with lab safety when so many of his proclivities involved sowing chaos.”

Lena couldn’t help but chortle. “That’s Lex for you.” The raven-haired Luthor hummed a little sigh. Laboratory LL12-B was one of Lex’s private labs that he had throughout LuthorCorp. In the week since the defeat of Lena’s mother and brother, Lena had made it her priority to scrub their influence out of her company. She had spent her days combing through LuthorCorp’s staff, looking for people she knew had ill intentions, and her evenings going through the parts of LuthorCorp that Lex and Lilian had kept from everyone else. Private labs for off-the-books projects, secret server rooms that had run a back-end network that had allowed Lex to spy on the private lives of millions of people, even a private tea room that Lillian had kept to herself. Lena was particularly bitter about that one.

Removing Lex’s and Lillian’s influences from LuthorCorp had been a massive undertaking. One that Lena was doing mostly by herself. The only LuthorCorp staff that she trusted was Jess, who on Earth Prime had been working as a teacher’s assistant at a community college in Central City up until a week ago when Lena lured her to National City with a job proposal that involved three times the salary she was currently making and to fully pay for her moving expenses. Jess didn’t understand why Lena had so much faith in her, or why the Luthor even sought her out, but Lena was able to convince her. Over the last few days since she began, Jess had been invaluable.

The only other person that Lena had trusted to help her was currently examining the foamy remains of what had been a half-finished product of some kind. Since recovering from his injuries, Brainy and Lena had spent the last three days going through Lex’s labs, disarming and disposing of the seedier projects, while logging and sorting the few benign ones.

“Whatever it was that caused the explosion seems to have been destroyed in the process of… said explosion,” Brainy announced as he continued squinting at the ruined device. After a few seconds the Coluan nodded and turned to Lena. He pressed his hands together as he did his best to maintain a steady expression. “Yes, it is no longer a threat… It is just a mess, now.”

“I’ll take a mess over a bomb any day,” Lena shot back.

“Yes, that is the far better choice of the two,” Brainy conceded.

“Come on,” Lena gently grabbed Brainy by the wrist and nodded her head in the direction of a metal door that led to a separate, secured, area of the lab. “We’ve put it off long enough, why don’t we tackle that before it gets much later.”

The two made their way over to the door, which had a thumbprint lock on it. Brainiac tried looking into the window of the room, but wasn’t able to make out anything through the pitch blackness on the other side. Undeterred, Lena pried the lock’s housing off, exposing the mess of wires underneath. Within a minute, there was a click. Brainy gave the door a test, finding that it opened with ease. A flash of pride washed over Lena’s face. Lex had plenty of secrets, and Lena was determined to expose them all.

As the hazy halogen lights hissed on, the room was revealed to them. In the center of this second room was a very elaborate computer console. Just in front of it was a railing, with stairs leading down on either side of the railing. At the bottom of the stairs was a lower section of the room with a grating floor and four large metal boxes against the far wall. Thick bundles of wires ran across the ground from the console to the boxes.

The two geniuses glanced at each other for a second. Lena gave a shrug and began starting up the console, which had been in sleep mode. Brainiac 5 walked to the other end of the console and knelt down. He slowly ran his fingers across the console base until he honed in on the screws.

Lena entered a couple commands into the computer. As she was waiting for the computer to process, she glanced down at Brainy, who was dutifully pulling the front of the base off the console so he could examine it’s inner workings.

“Thank you,” Lena murmured as she stared at him.

Querl Dox lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. “I am simply making myself useful. We were going to have to examine the wiring eventually.”

“No, no,” Lena said, waving a hand.

“I mean… thank you, for helping me with all this,” Lena clarified. She turned her attention back to the console, her brow knitting as she did, although that had nothing to do with the console. “I’m sure there are other things you could and  _ would _ much rather be doing.”

The statement made Brainiac 5 pause for a moment.

“There seems to be an underlying implication that you do not have something you’d rather be doing.”

“It seems us humans aren’t so mysterious after all,” Lena smiled. She took a second to enter something else into the computer console. “No wild Friday nights for this CEO, I’m afraid.”

Brainy nodded as he listened to Lena’s response. Once she was finished, Brainy returned to rummaging through the wires inside the console, attempting to figure out where they were all going. “I am... glad I could be a help,” he flatly stated.

“There is nothing else that I have to do on a Friday night, either, in fact,” Brainy added as ducked his head into the opening in the console so that he could see where the wires were being plugged in.

The newest line of code that Lena had entered wasn’t getting her anywhere. She had been at this for a number of minutes already and all she knew about this console and this room was that there was a lot of security for it. The Luthor’s nostrils flared as she hammered in another sequence in an attempt to bypass the security.

A moment of silence had passed as the two worked. Finally, after attempting another crack at bypassing the console’s security, Lena gave a quick glance at Brainiac 5, who was on the floor, well on his way to constructing a mental schematic of how the console was built.

“Have you talked to Nia, yet?” Lena asked, eyes focusing on the console in front of her. Just out of the corner of her eye, though, she could see how the Coluan’s body went tense at the name. For a good minute it was the only indication that he had heard Lena, as he quietly continued his work.

“If, by ‘talked to’, you were asking if I have had any verbal interaction at all with Nia… then yes, I have,” Brainy said, finally breaking the silence.

“You know full well that’s not what I meant,” Lena shot back.

The clarification brought another momentary silence as Lena dug into the files of the console, having finally gotten past the security protocols.

“Then… no, we have not… spoken. Not really,” Brainy confirmed.

Lena stopped dead what she was doing. She straightened herself up, then turned to glare down at Brainiac 5, one hand leaning against the console, the other firmly gripping her hip.

“Querl Dox!” Lena gruffly stated, her eyes narrowing as Brainy sat up to meet her gaze. Something he only did for a few seconds before lowering his head. “You almost died saving us all from Leviathan. Yet, you survived. I would call it a miracle, but it would be a disservice to the effort Alex and J’onn put into saving you.”

“I cannot state how much of a debt I owe Alex and J’onn,” Brainiac 5 mumbled, his eyes still staring firmly at the ground in front of him.

“We’ve already established that you, Brainiac 5, are perfectly able to deduce the ‘subtle mysteries of humans’, so you know damn well  _ that _ wasn’t the point I was driving at,” Lena huffed.

In response, Brainiac 5 simply lifted his gaze up to Lena, with a smirk on his mostly blank face.

“You’re still here, Brainy! You have a second chance at life.  _ Talk to her! _ ”

The one response Lena probably wasn’t expecting was for Brainy to lock eyes with her, furrow his brow in a confident, smug smile, and chuckle, but that was exactly the response she got. He held that smile long enough that Lena was beginning to feel uneasy. She rose a single, perfectly shaped brow at him, perplexed by his reaction.

Brainiac 5 hummed another little laugh. “I see that Lena Luthor is one of those people who gives advice better than she follows it,” he smoothly let out.

Lena’s brilliant, green eyes went wide at the accusation. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, yet no noise came out of her.

“I…”

“...I beg your pardon?!” Lena finally got out. She was incredulous, alternating between scoffing and gasping. All the while, Brainy’s laughter grew in her ears as he climbed up to his feet, using the edge of the computer console to pull himself up.

The indignant response only lasted a moment before she pulled herself together. A simple clearing of the throat and a quick flattening of her clothes, and Lena was back to her sharp self.

With her head held high, chin arced up so that she could look down on Brainy, she gave him a glare, but accompanied it with a smile. “I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Ah, I see,” Brainiac 5 responded. He turned on the computer monitor at the other end of the console. With a few button presses a number of schematics and notes began popping onto the screen. “If  _ I _ may offer some advice… I know that you may not feel that Kara… that our friends desire your presence—”

“—You mean I feel like a pariah,” Lena interjected, barely masking her bitterness.

“Er, yes, that. I assure you, that is not how they feel about you. That is certainly not how Kara feels about you,” Brainy continued, barely paying attention to the notes flashing up on his screen.

“Not when I can be of use, at least,” Lena scoffed. Her eyes fell shut for a moment. Little boxes.

Little boxes.

When Lena reopened her eyes, there was a calmness about her that was disquieting. “Every time it feels like Kara and I take a step forward, we end up stumbling five steps backwards. It’s… it almost feels like there is some cosmic force that wants us apart.”

“If the two of you, who’ve been so close for years, cannot find your way back, what hope do I have for finding my way back to Nia,” Brainy sighed.

“It’s different. The two of you were in love. Are in love,” Lena murmured. Her eyes were locked in on the lines of code on the console in front of her, yet she was still able to feel the hard, skeptical glare that Brainiac 5 was shooting her. Lena huffed. “The two of you were in love with  _ each other _ … It’s different.”

“Yes, I am sure—” Brainy began, but trailed off as he was saying it.

The abrupt end to the sentence made Lena look up finally. Brainiac 5 was staring intently at his screen, rapidly flipping through the files that were on the screen.

“Brainy? What is it?” Lena leaned over to try to get a look at his screen.

“...I know what this console does,” Brainiac 5 whispered. He looked up suddenly, his face stricken with fear. “It would be wise if we shut it down imme—”

Click.

Click.

The two simple noises rang out in the room. Slowly, Brainy turned towards the sources of the clicks: two of the metal boxes sitting in the lower section of the room.

“...I fear we may be too late,” Brainiac 5 breathed. Lena turned to follow Brainy’s gaze, and gasped.

As the duo were watching, the two metal boxes began unfurling in a clunky mass of metal parts. The grinding sound of metal scraping together filled the room. At first, it was hard to make out what was happening, but soon it became clear. Finally, the last piece of metal clicked into place, and the two armored robots rose to their feet. Both robots had machine gun turrets built into their forearms, and missile launchers on their shoulders. At nine feet tall, they stood about at the same height as the top of the railing. The whirring noise of whatever machines were inside them, powering them, was loud, as was the clanking whenever they moved or even just twisted a part of their body.

Lena was desperately trying to compose herself, but was failing miserably at the sight of the hulking murderbots that her brother had been developing just a few floors below her office as a side project.

Brainiac 5 sprung into motion. He began typing away furiously on the keyboards of the terminal. “We have to shut them down! We have to—”

“—duck!” Lena shrieked and tackled Brainiac 5 to the ground. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of the bots, which turned out to be helpful as she watched their eyes light up red and lock into her and Brainy. Their arms swung up, and Lena barely saw the gun turrets aiming at her before she forced herself and Brainiac 5 to the ground. As they laid there, a hail of bullets could be heard overhead. Some of them shattered the window, sending shards of glass raining down on the two. 

They quickly huddled under the console. Brainiac 5 shot a worried look at Lena as he held up his right arm. On his wrist was a dark, gunmetal gray watch.

“This has nothing to do with our previous conversation ,but I believe it would be in our best interest to call Kara!” Brainy shouted, trying to be heard over the sound of the bots stomping around.

“No!” Lena hissed. “We can do this on our own! I just have to stay low and enter the kill code into the console…

“...That shouldn’t be hard, right?” Lena twisted around and slowly popped her head over the edge of the console, making sure to keep her head below the top of the monitors. It didn’t seem to matter to the bots, as soon as she had popped up they turned towards her. She was able to drop back down just in time before they heard another hail of bullets. Lena glanced up to see that the computer monitors were now riddled with bullet holes and sparking.

“By my calculations, our chances of survival are becoming astronomically low!” Brainy yelped. “If we were prepared, or maybe if I was fully recovered, then perhaps. But our present course of actions does not bode well for us.” To make his point, Brainiac 5 held his arm back up and quickly twisted his wrist back and forth, causing the watch to jiggle slightly.

Lena let out a long sigh that visibly deflated her. “Alright,  _ fine _ .” She paused to flare her nostrils. “I  _ suppose  _ we need to call Supergirl.”

As soon as the words left Lena’s mouth, Brainy flipped the face of his watch up, to reveal a button with the House of El symbol on it. A firm press of the button made the symbol light up red.

Metal feet stomped up the metal stairs, making a horrid scraping noise. By the sound of it, the bots were almost right on top of them. Brainy and Lena continued cowering under the console. Out of instinct, Lena grabbed Brainiac 5’s hands. If this was going to be it, she was glad to have a friend by her side.

Suddenly, a red streak, so fast it was almost imperceptible, zoomed through the door and into the room, followed quickly by the sound of an explosion and metal scattering across the floor. A couple seconds after that was the sound of more gunfire, which ended with the sound of something very strong punching a hole through solid steel. Not long after that a loud thud shook the floor.

“Brainy?” Supergirl’s voice called out.

Brainiac 5 gave Lena a wide smile as he popped up from where he was sitting.

“Kara, it is good to see you,” Brainy greeted as he came into view from behind the computer console. Supergirl was standing just a few yards away, one of the bots laying on the ground next to her with a giant hole in its chest.

A relieved smile came over Kara. “Oh thank goodness. Are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine. All thanks to you,” Brainy answered, walking around the console to greet his friend. Kara immediately pulled the Coluan into a hug. Brainiac 5 had to squirm a little to free his arms enough to return the embrace.

After a second, Kara pulled back and held Brainy at arm’s length, gripping him by his shoulders. “What are you doing at L-Co-- er, I mean, LuthorCorp? You’re supposed to be recovering still!”

“He’s helping me,” Lena suddenly interjected, pulling herself to her feet. The Luthor stood tall, her back completely straightened, her head held high. “I needed help disposing of Lex’s pet projects, and Brainy was kind enough to lend a hand.”

From the moment Lena came into view, Kara was unable to take her eyes off of her. “Oh, Lena!” Kara yelped, clearly startled by the CEO’s sudden presence. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she searched for the words she wanted to say.

On the other hand, Lena seemed disinterested in looking at Supergirl, or talking to her, instead focusing her attention on the now ruined computer console.

“I’m glad you’re safe, too, of course,” Kara finally fumbled out.

“Yes,” Brainiac 5 suddenly interjected between the two. He slowly made his way around the console towards the door. “Perhaps this would be a good time for a break.”

Lena spun around to glare at Brainy, who was now standing in the doorway. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“We have been working for hours, and just survived a harrowing experience,” Brainy continued on, the slight smile on his face making sure to ignore Lena’s piercing glare. “Perhaps a food break is in order?” he mused. Lena’s eyes went wide at Brainy’s suggestion. Her brows furrowed as much as they could.

Meanwhile, Kara’s face lit up at the mention of food.

Brainiac 5 glanced at Kara, then at Lena. “Yes, I believe food is in order. Perhaps Marco’s Deli. They should still be open. I can go get it, a brisk walk would be good for me. Text me what you want when you decide,” he smiled, then strolled out of the room.

The raven-haired Luthor watched him leave through squinted eyes.

The CEO took a deep breath before slowly turning back to the computer console. Kara had moved next to her, leaning on the far end of the console, offering her a welcome smile, something Lena had no interest in at the moment.

“Thank you for your assistance, Supergirl. That was all we needed,” Lena matter-of-factly stated, eyes still trained on the computer monitor as she slowly pulled it from the frame it had been welded to the console with.

The coldness of Lena’s statement slammed into Kara as if it was her own freeze breath. She screwed her eyes shut as she took in a deep breath.

“... Lena,” Kara reopened her eyes so she could take a quick look around the room, “You should have called. I can help with this,” she said, her voice hollow, quiet.

“Your help isn’t required,” Lena shot back.

“But Brainy’s helping you? He shouldn’t be doing this kind of labor yet,” Kara responded.

That response finally got Lena to look at Supergirl. “Brainy is a big boy, he can make his own decisions. He’s been invaluable these last three days.  _ We _ make a good team.”

Kara didn’t have a response, she simply took a step back.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work that needs to be finished,” Lena snipped, returning once again to the computer console.

“Lena—” Kara began, but let herself take a moment to gather her thoughts. “Lena, I was hoping that we could talk—”

“—And I was hoping to get most of this finished by Monday,” the Luthor interjected, letting the monitor slide out of her hands and tumble onto the console.

“I’m trying here, Lena,” Kara sighed.

“What. What are you trying, Kara?” Lena huffed, taking her first step towards the Kryptonian. “Are you trying to annoy me? Badger me? Waste my time? Which is it,  _ Kara _ ?” she hissed.

Supergirl finally stood up straight and faced Lena head on. She was grinding her teeth as she stared at Lena head on. Then, she threw her hands ups. “ _ Fine _ ,” Kara growled. “My help isn’t needed, fine. It’s Friday night, there are other things I can certainly be doing.”

Without waiting, Kara maneuvered around Lena and stomped her way to the doorway.

“Must be nice, having  _ things _ to do, and friends to do it with,” the raven-haired CEO called back, her eyes still firmly focused on the console ahead of her.

It made Supergirl pause, and spin around in the doorway. She looked livid, but calmed a little with a couple deep breaths, yet it was obvious she was still clearly frustrated. “Nope! I’m not doing this again.

“Have a good night, Miss Luthor,” Kara huffed. She turned back around and marched out of the door. Walking in stride, Kara pulled her phone out and typed a message at lightning speed, then zoomed away in a flash.

Lena watched her go. Her jaw clenched as she stood there, staring into the empty lab where Kara had just been. Once again, staring into the emptiness left by Kara Danvers.

The Luthor took a deep breath, then a second one. Then she slammed her hands down onto the console in frustration.

* * *

At the same time that Kara was zooming away from Lena’s lab, her text message was riding on a digital current, hurtling towards its recipients: the three people in her “Power Girls” group chat.

**Impromptu Girls’ Night. Al’s Bar. NOW. NOT ASKING. --K**

* * *

_ “Lena, I’m sorry, okay?” _

_ Four days prior, the Super Friends had managed to stop Lex and Lillian Luthor’s plans for world domination. _

_ Four days prior, Kara had shaken Lena’s hand, then left her standing there by herself, the rest of the Super Friends having already dispersed. _

_ Kara had texted Lena the following morning, asking if they could get lunch together, to “catch up” as had been mentioned the night before. That text went unanswered. _

_ As did the following four Kara had sent over the next three hours. _

_ Lunch time came, and Kara still hadn’t heard anything. In a desperate attempt to keep her fears at bay, Kara spent most of her lunch coming up with plausible excuses why she was having said lunch by herself. _

_ It was a Friday, surely Lena was trying to get as much work done before the weekend. _

_ Or, maybe she was too busy because the company’s CEO and Chairwoman were now suddenly in a black site prison somewhere as news broke of their dastardly deeds. _

_ Surely there was some logical explanation. _

_ After lunch, Kara modified her text to ask if Lena wanted to get dinner. That one finally got a response. Lena’s reply was simple:  _

**_Busy. Sorry. --L_ **

_ Not what Kara had been hoping for, but at least she had heard from Lena. Kara didn’t send another text until Saturday afternoon. _

**_Brunch tomorrow. At that diner on 15th that you love. Mimosas. Catching up. I MIGHT even let you convince me to try their kale salad… No promises, tho. Yes? --K_ **

_ To say that Kara was excited when she heard her phone buzz less than five minutes later was an understatement. She pulled her phone out of her pocket so quickly that she almost sent it flying across the room from the momentum. That excitement didn’t last long. _

**_No. Sorry. --L_ **

_ The rest of the weekend was spent trying to rationalize. Kara had come up with almost a dozen reasons why the Luthor was too busy on a Sunday. Once she started running low on reasons, she started begging the universe for a distraction. Bank robbers. Alien invasion. Anything. _

_ It seemed the universe was trying to have a quiet weekend. _

_ By Monday morning, Kara had made a decision. Remove the choice. Which is why at around noon, Kara touched down on Lena’s office balcony, unannounced with bags of Big Belly Burger in hand. She strode into the office, beige chinos with a navy button down tucked into her waistband, and a bright smile on her face. _

_ The decision is what quickly led to the argument of Lena only being considered when it’s on Kara’s terms. Which led to the counterargument of that being bullshit. It continued on that way for a good ten minutes, each woman digging into their positions (and sadly not digging into the growing cold Big Belly Burger) until Lena finally hissed “All you wanted me for was to help stop my brother! As soon as he was taken care of you didn’t have any more need for me!” _

_ “That’s not true!” _

_ “YOU LEFT ME, ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF CITY WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A HANDSHAKE WHILE YOU AND YOUR SUPER FRIENDS WENT OFF TO PARTY TOGETHER!” _

_ “Lena, I’m sorry, okay?” _

_ “No, Kara, not okay! Dammit, I wanted nothing more than to be your friend again. To work at it, I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight.” _

_ “That’s what I want too!” _

_ “Is it? Or does Supergirl just need Tech Support?” _

_ “How could you say that?!” _

_ “You. Left. Me.” _

_ “I’m not going to keep apologizing for the same thing, Lena!” _

_ “You don’t need to apologize at all.” _

_ Lena huffed that last statement. She plopped back down into her office chair, took a second to massage the sides of her head, and turned back to her laptop. Kara simply watched, her bones aching from every second of their argument. _

_ “Now, if you’ll excuse me, thanks to you and your merry Paragon troupe, I have to go through the business of taking over this company. Again,” Lena said, not once looking up from her laptop. _

_ Kara’s mouth twitched. She opened and closed it a few times. There was so much more that she wanted to say, but enough of her level-headedness cut through the anger and sadness to convince her to not go somewhere they couldn’t come back from. _

_ So Kara simply huffed, and began trudging towards the balcony. _

_ “And take your slop with you,” Lena added, pointing to the bags of Big Belly Burger on her coffee table. _

_ It took Kara’s conscience a couple seconds to convince her not to throw away the best friendship she’s ever had over Big Belly Burger. _

_ Without a word, Kara stomped back and retrieved the bags. She stopped once she got back to the balcony doorway. “I  _ do  _ want to work on us. Let me know when you actually want to talk,” Kara sighed. Lena simply hummed in response, which just made Kara yank off her glasses with extra oomph. _

_ Supergirl stepped onto the balcony. She looked down at the bag in her hand, and, with one deep breath, hurled them into the air with as much force as she could muster. _

_ About half a mile away, workers at a commercial plastics firm would talk about the day a bag of Big Belly Burger slammed into the 45th floor window so hard it left a crack for weeks to come. _

* * *

Kara slammed down her lowball tumbler with enough force that Alex could have sworn that she heard the wood of the table top crack. There was a reason why Al had invested the money in tumblers made out of Kerenthium steel just for Kara, they were about the only thing that could withstand it when Kara was fully inebriated and not doing a good job at monitoring her strength levels.

The momentum in which Kara had put down her cup caused her to sway on the stool. Nia, sitting to Kara’s right, and nursing her own buzz, was able to put her arm up just in time to keep the Kryptonian from face-planting on the floor.

“Whoa there, Girl of Steel,” Nia chuckled, pushing Kara back into an upright position. Alex, sitting on the other side of Kara, gripped her other arm as Kara tried to regain her balance.

After a few seconds, Kara tugged her arms away from both of them. “I’m fine. I’M FINE,” she huffed.

“If I may be so bold...,” Kelly chimed in. She was sitting just next to Alex, casually enjoying her second beer.

“Hit me wit’ it, Doc!” Kara shouted, followed by a bubbly giggle.

Kelly bit her lip for a second to compose herself and not laugh at her girlfriend’s sister’s current state. “...The entire reason we’re all here is because you’re  _ not  _ fine,” she ventured.

The blonde squinted at Kelly. She was sure it was supposed to be menacing, but with her cheeks so red from the alcohol, and the way she couldn’t keep her head in one place, it was mostly just adorable. “Are you psy… psychi… psycho… Are you psychoing me?” Kara huffed.

Everyone tried to hold it in, but the whole table couldn’t help but erupt into laughter.

“What?!” Kara demanded.

“Nothing,” Alex said through her laughing fit. After a few seconds, she cleared her throat and patted Kara on the shoulder. “We are taking this very seriously. I assure you.”

Kara tried squinting at her sister, who didn’t seem any more affected by it than Kelly had been. The Girl of Steel grumbled and grabbed her tumbler, downing the rest of its contents in one gulp.

“Al!” Kara screamed, slamming the now empty cup back onto the table.

Nia shot her hands to the cup and slipped it out of Kara’s grip. “Stop yelling for Al,” she chuckled. “Here, I’ll go refill your drink for you,” she added. Kara shot a bright smile at her, and reached up to boop the reporter in the nose, but instead Kara just ended up poking one of Nia’s cheeks. Before Nia left, Alex mouthed “bring water” to her. With a nod, Nia turned and headed towards the bar.

Free from her drink, Kara began to slump before propping her head up with her elbows. Alex slowly stroked Kara’s back. “Hanging in there, Kara?”

“She’s never even wanted to go out drinking with us before!” Kara groaned suddenly.

“Um, okay. Are we talking about Lena?” Kelly asked.

“YES!” Kara groaned. Her face was slowly sliding in her hands so that she could cover her eyes.

Alex smirked as she glanced around the room. “Yeah, Lena’s not a snob or anything, but I’m really struggling to even picture her in here,” she chuckled.

“ _ Right _ ?! I asked her so many times before!” Kara continued, not quite yelling, but her volume still clearly elevated.

“What do you mean by ‘before’?” Kelly asked after taking a swig of her beer.

The Kryptonian went quiet for a moment. “You know… Before. Like… Before this Earth.”

“So, back when she was still mad at you but you didn’t know it,” Kelly replied. She grimaced as soon as she did so. Kara was in no condition for critical thinking. Right now she just needed the support of her friends. Sometimes, it wasn’t easy to take off that psychologist’s hat.

“Hey, whose side are you on,” Kara slurred out, looking up from her palms.

“I’m not on anyone’s side,” Kelly quickly answered. “I’m just pointing out a fact.”

The conversation was broken up by a returning Nia. She handed Kara her tumbler back. The appreciative blonde flashed her another big smile and immediately took a hearty swig from the cup. A second later she was spraying it out over the table.

“IS THIS WATER?!” Kara gasped, burrowing holes into Nia’s skull with her glare.

The young reporter shot her hands up in surrender. “It was Alex’s idea! And truth be told Kara, I’m more scared of her than you!”

Kara clutched her chest and gasped. “I could throw you into space!”

“And yet, still more scared of Alex!” Nia reiterated.

The answer made Kara growl. She turned to her sister and glared. “Gimmie that!” Kara snatched Alex’s beer right from her hands, much to her protest. Kara didn’t pay the protests any attention, she was too busy trying to focus on the beer, which meant her holding it about a foot in front of her. For just a second, Kara’s eyes glowed orange, and the briefest of heat vision bursts shot at the bottle. With a smug smile, Kara handed it back to Alex, who was scowling at her sister.

As soon as the bottle was back in Alex’s hands, she groaned, knowing full well what her sister had just done. Cautiously, Alex took a small sip of her beer, and even that was enough to make her scrunch up her entire face and stick her tongue out. “UGH! Hot beer! Thanks a lot, Kara!”

“That’s what the water police get!” Kara cackled.

Despite her frustration, Alex couldn’t help but laugh at the line as she rolled her eyes. “I guess I need to go get a new beer,” she sighed, sliding off her stool.

“I’ll come with you, babe,” Kelly chirped, following her girlfriend.

“Again, I just need to reiterate, the water was Alex’s idea,” Nia said between sips of her drink.

The only reply she got for a moment was a heavy sigh as Kara leaned heavily on one arm.

“She said I just want her around as tick… tech… tick? For computer stuff,” Kara sighed.

Nia awkwardly looked side to side. It seemed Kara was continuing a conversation that had been in her head up until now.

“Lena?” Nia ventured.

“How could she think that?!” Kara bemoaned. Her arm slowly gave way until her chin was resting on the table. “How could she think that I don’t care about her? I… I…” A muffled sniffle came from Kara as her face pressed against the hardwood.

The young reporter raised an eyebrow. She leaned over and gently rubbed Kara’s slumped over back. “You… what?” she tried coaxing from her friend.

Slowly, Kara picked her head up a little. “I… think I have to use the bathroom.”

The pathetic admission got a sympathetic chuckle from Nia. She set her drink down and began the process of trying to sling Kara’s arm over her shoulder.

“Come on, Maiden of Might. Let’s get you there before disaster strikes.”

It was a delicate process, but Nia was able to get both of them to their feet, and haphazardly stumbled in the general direction of the bathrooms.

“I… just miss her so much,” Kara mumbled as they made their way along.

Nia gave the hand that was slung over her shoulder a squeeze. “We know, Kara. We know.”

* * *

The morning after Supergirl saved Lena and Brainy from Lex’s robots, one marked by a throbbing headache, Kara and Lena had a simple text exchange.

**I’m glad that you weren’t hurt last night. --K**

**Thank you. --L**

That was the last text Lena sent her. Kara kept telling herself that giving Lena space was the right thing to do. Maybe a thoughtful text here, and a silly text there, just to let her know that Kara was thinking of her. Even Alex agreed; don’t push Lena, let her be in control of where this went. It was a good plan.

But it was killing Kara.

To distract herself, Kara had dove headfirst into her exposé about Lex’s secret history. It was a strategy that ended up backfiring. Every time Kara saw the name “Luthor”, her mind certainly wasn’t on the bald headed one currently sitting in an Argus jail.

Supergirl duties weren’t much more help. A couple fires to extinguish; a hostage situation at a bank to thwart; Kara was so desperate she had resorted to cat-in-tree duty (Scraps was very grateful, Muffin less so).

Six days had passed since the last text from Lena, not that Kara was counting, but six days and a little under three hours, just in case anyone needed to know. Kara, dressed in a sensible navy-blue button down with white polka dots and slate gray slacks, was sitting in Noonan’s, her high top table covered with notes and files, save for the small space that her laptop, coffee, and half-eaten blueberry danish were occupying. After rereading the same slip of paper for a third time, the blonde let out a deep sigh, and dropped the note back onto the table. She pushed up her glasses just enough to give her eyes a good rub. Once she repositioned them and let her eyes refocus, she peered at the laptop screen to access the progress of the last two hours.

Half a paragraph.

Kara blew a puff of air out in frustration and lowered her head to the brim of the laptop.

“Ut-oh, I know that face,” a voice said from over Kara’s shoulder. The Kryptonian popped up her head so fast that the momentum almost slid her off her stool.

“Alex!” Kara beamed. She twisted to give her sister a tight hug. Once she let Alex go, the redhead, dressed in blue jeans, a t-shirt, and leather jacket, sat on the stool across from Kara. She searched for space on the table for her bike helmet, but had to settle for letting it precariously sit on the stool next to her.

“This,” Alex, a devious smirk on her face, waved her hand over the table, “looks like it needs to be taped up onto a wall with red string running between each piece.”

“Oh, har har,” Kara scoffed as she shuffled a couple of files. “These are my notes on Lex and Leviathan. AND,” Kara’s voice raised slightly as Alex began picking them up, “believe it or not they are in some kind of order so please don’t move things around!”

The elder sister dropped what she was holding. “Fine, fine.”

“So, is everything okay?” Alex asked, nudging the piles just enough to make room for her elbows.

The question made Kara raise an eyebrow and let out a hollow chuckle. “What? Me? Of course! Why would you think that I’m not?”

Before answering, Alex tried reaching across the table to grab the danish that was still sitting there, but Kara snatched it before she could, and proceeded to stuff the entire half of danish into her mouth. Alex couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her sister, a look of triumph on her face while her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk.

“My danish,” Kara struggled to say through a very full mouth. Alex shook her head.

“Anyway,” Alex said, trying to regain her composure. “I just wanted to make sure. Kelly said you’ve been coming down here to work alone a lot this week. And then I find you headbutting your laptop.”

“I wasn’t headbutting—” Kara started to say, but stopped as Alex pointed at the laptop. The top, where she had rested her head against in frustration, had a noticeable depression in it. A few of the pixels on the top of her screen seemed to be dead as a result. “Aw, dammit!”

Alex had a smug grin on her face. “You were saying?”

Kara gently closed her laptop. “I’ll be alright. I’m… just struggling to get through this article.” Kara flashed her sister a small grin as an attempt to reiterate that she was, in fact, perfectly fine.

“Uh-huh,” Alex flatly shot back. “That’s it. The article. That’s all that’s bothering you.”

“...Yep!” Kara deflected. “It’s kind of silly, if you think about it. I’ve already written this article, I know it turns out good. Pulitzer Prize winning good, in fact.”

The redhead bit her lip. She wanted to push the matter more, but Alex knew that when Kara dug in like this, she could be just as immovable as she physically is. “Maybe that’s the problem,” Alex conceited, deciding to play along. “Last time… er, last reality… Whatever you want to call it, you were just writing the article because you wanted people to know the truth about Lex Luthor. You had no idea it would win a Pulitzer. You were just writing from your heart. Now, you’re writing with this expect—”

Before Alex could finish her thought, Kara shot a finger up to shush her sister. The Kryptonian closed her eyes and began slowly tilting her head in random directions. Alex knew that look well; Kara was trying to filter through the noises of the city.

The Danvers sisters sat in silence for a moment as Kara focused on her hearing. Then, her eyes shot open. They were wide, as was the smile growing on her face. “Something’s entering the atmosphere!”

“Care to elaborate?” Alex asked, already sliding to stand up. Kara began concentrating again.

“I think… it’s a ship! A spaceship!” Kara beamed. “Oh, thank Rao!”

Alex gave her a perplexed look. “Um, you’re way too happy about a potential invasion.”

“Er, yeah. I mean, oh no, this might be awful,” Kara deadpanned. She stood there for a few seconds, attempting, and failing, to contain her excitement.

“Okay!” Kara finally blurted out. She made sure no one was looking, then gathered all her things up into a pile in less than a second.

Before Alex knew it, all of Kara’s work was stuffed into the redhead’s hands.

“I’m going to go investigate it! Meet you there!” Kara said. She spun on her heels and began power walking out of Noonan’s just as fast as she could without raising suspicions.

“Hey!” Alex called to her sister, who did not stop to acknowledge her. “Hey! I’m not—” she yelled again, but Kara was already out the door and out of sight.

“—not your secretary,” the elder sister huffed, looking down at the stacks of files and laptop in her hands.

* * *

The mid-morning sky was a brilliant shade of azure blue, with barely a cloud to be seen. Sunlight glittered off National City’s towering skyline as Supergirl zipped through the city, banking around corners with ease, even throwing in some spins as she increased speed, all the while a look of glee plastered on her face.

A part of Kara knew she shouldn’t have been this happy. There was a better than zero chance that whoever was coming to Earth didn’t have wholesome intentions. The logical part of Kara knew that; yet at the moment she couldn’t bring herself to care. Anything to get her mind off the name “Luthor”. Anything to distract from the fact that she hadn’t heard from Lena in six days, three hours, and seventeen minutes, for those keeping track, which Kara certainly was  _ not _ . Anything to hold her attention so her brain wouldn’t drift back to thoughts of sparkling, emerald green eyes and dimpled smiles. If that “anything” had to be visitors from another planet, then come one, come all! Welcome to Earth!

It didn’t take long for Kara to reach the distraction, er, spaceship. Supergirl hovered some two hundred feet up in the air as she watched the ship touch down in the middle of National Central Park, a sprawling strip of grass and trees in the middle of downtown National City. A quick x-ray scan revealed that there was only one passenger, who was already climbing out of the pilot’s seat, no doubt to make their way off of the ship.

Hundreds of people were gathering in the park. National City Police arrived quickly and began doing what they could in the way of crowd control.

Supergirl plummeted to the ground, landing in a kneeling position, striking a classic superhero landing pose as her cape billowed above her. A roar of applause erupted as she rose to her feet. Kara gave the crowd a meek wave before turning her attention to the ship. Within a few seconds, J’onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, gracefully touched down next to her, the red cape on his black suit fluttering behind him.

“Be careful, Supergirl,” the Manhunter ominously announced.

“Well hello to you too!” Kara chortled as the two of them strolled towards the ship.

J’onn shook his head, the frown on his face growing. “Someone or something on that ship is blocking my telepathy. I can’t detect anything inside of it.”

Despite J’onn’s warning, Kara’s exuberant mood couldn’t be shaken. “Maybe they just value their privacy,” she ventured with a shrug. “Besides, if they do have bad intentions, it’ll be just one person against the Super Friends!” Kara knew that J’onn’s caution was coming from a place of love, but there was a lightness in her chest that hadn’t been there for over a week, and not even a surprise alien encounter would be able to damper that.

The roar of an engine could be heard in the park. Kara and J’onn turned around to see Alex, in her new blue and black vigilante outfit, speeding down one of the walkways on her motorcycle. Tightly hugging Alex was Nia, dressed as Dreamer and clinging to the older Danvers’ back. The bike decelerated quickly, allowing it to skid to a stop just a few feet away from Supergirl and the Martian Manhunter with a slight lurch.

“Can we just call a Lyft next time?” Nia groaned as she climbed off of the bike.

“Don’t be such a baby,” Alex scoffed. She slid her helmet off, then took a second to brush back her slick, red hair. “So, what do we have here?” the elder Danvers asked once she was off the motorcycle. Her and Dreamer began strolling towards their friends.

“Just one person on board,” Kara answered, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the ship. “So far they haven’t—”

Before the blonde could finish her statement, a loud hissing noise drowned her out. Everyone turned their attention to the source: a segment of the spaceship’s smooth, gray-purple surface had begun opening up. Behind it was a still closed door. Stairs began forming below the door, seemingly being constructed out of thin air.

“Spoke too soon!” Supergirl beamed, ear to ear grin on her face. She skipped off the ground and began floating forward at the speed of a light powerwalk.

With Kara a little ahead of them, J’onn leaned in towards Alex. “I thought she was still morose over everything that happened with the Luthors,” he whispered.

“You know Kara, this is how she processes,” Alex shrugged as she whispered back. “The sadder she is, the farther down she pushes it.”

Within a second, Kara had rounded back and was now inches from Alex, smirking as she stared her sister in the eyes.

“I can hear what Kelly is talking about in her office that is three miles away right now. What made you think whispering was a good idea?”

Alex threw her hands up as a sign of surrender. “Force of habit!” she gulped. “Although I’m definitely right!” Alex instantly fired back. 

“I’ll have you know—” Kara began.

“Um, guys?” Nia chimed in, cutting Kara’s sentence short. She was pointing at the ship whose door was finally opening.

Kara immediately dropped her faux incredulousness and cleared the last length needed to get into a healthy “welcome, stranger” distance from the door, leaving J’onn, Alex, and Nia yards behind. The trio began scurrying after her.

A hush fell over the entire park as everyone that had gathered watched the ship with intent. The spaceship had fully powered down, and sat there, silent, with an open door that so far no one had stepped through. Kara stood a few yards away, a bright, toothy smile on her face as her fists were firmly planted on her hips, striking her trademark “hero pose”. Just behind her the other Super Friends stood, eyes fixed on the doorway.

Finally, the passenger appeared in the doorway. He had magenta skin that covered a massive, muscular body that was over seven feet tall. The alien’s face was square, a firm scowl was carved into hard features with piercing yellow eyes, including a third one that sat in the center of his forehead. Instead of hair, he had a leathery fin that ran from front to back and resembled a pink mohawk. A plain, mustard yellow top and gray pants strained to hold in his large frame. Matching, mustard yellow boots covered this thick feet.

For her part, Supergirl was able to ignore the mounting tension and maintained her demeanor as the hulking magenta figure exited the ship.

Dreamer, on the other hand, let out a long whistle that seemed to echo off of every tree in the park, followed by a drawn out, “woooow!” Supergirl briefly twisted around to glare at the younger hero before returning to the visitor in front of them.

“Greetings! Welcome to Earth!” Kara chirped, extending her hand out to the visitor as he stepped down onto the ground. The giant figure quickly glanced at her hand before returning his attention to her. Kara slowly, and awkwardly, pulled her unshaken hand back in. “Hi,” Kara decided to try again, “my name is S—”

“A Super,” the magenta man growled, his voice deep and gravely.

The slightest of eye twitches passed over Kara. “Rude!” she mumbled almost silently as she turned her head to the side to avoid saying it in the visitor’s face.

“Um, yes. Not just ‘a Super’, I am Superg—”

“And the Martian Manhunter?!” the visitor exclaimed, looking past Supergirl as he cut her off a second time.

This time Kara didn’t bother hiding the scowl on her face. One instance could be chalked up to culture differences, but twice was just being a jerk.

“Looks like I’m in the right place,” the visitor said, smirking.

Just as Kara was about to respond, the visitor sprung into a fighting stance. In an instant his fist slammed into her solar plexus, and to Kara’s shock, it actually hurt. On top of that, it was enough force to actually lift Supergirl off the ground. On top of  _ that _ , it was enough force to send her hurtling backwards through the air at a force and velocity strong enough that when she reached a tree, she crashed right through it and continued for another hundred yards. Finally, Kara was able to regain control of herself and slid to a stop by digging her hands and feet into the ground. The pain in her stomach was brief, replaced immediately by anger, but that was temporarily cut shot as she realized that the tree she smashed through was beginning to topple over in the direction of the scattering crowd. Supergirl pushed off and soared towards the falling oak.

Meanwhile, J’onn, Alex, and Nia had responded towards the visitor’s aggression in kind. The Manhunter charged at him, but the visitor was able to catch the swinging fist with his hand. J’onn swung his other hand, but it was also caught, locking the two in a grapple.

“How do you know of me?! I’ve never even met you before today!” J’onn shouted.

“No, you haven’t. Not here at least,” the visitor grunted.

Before the magenta menace could overpower his green adversary, one of Dreamer’s electric blue energy ropes wrapped itself around one of the visitor’s wrists, pulling it backwards. At the same time, Alex had willed her Hand of the Soldier weapon into a plasma gun that she was firing at the alien’s giant body. The distraction was enough to allow J’onn to phase out of the visitor’s grasp. As he phased back in, though, the visitor’s third eyes trained on J’onn, firing a sort of rippling energy blast at the Manhunter, knocking him backwards. The visitor then turned his attention, and energy blast, towards Dreamer and Alex, but Dreamer was able to raise an energy shield in front of her and Alex in time to absorb the third eye’s shot.

“I rescind my ‘welcome to Earth’!” Supergirl screamed, flying back into the fight suddenly. Her fist clobbered the visitor’s jaw, sending him soaring backwards until he slammed into his ship, leaving a dent.

“Jerk,” Kara huffed, as she stood there, glaring at the stranger, fists ready. The rest of the Super Friends regrouped behind her.

“Ut-oh, he brought out the potty mouth,” Alex quipped from just behind her sister. Dreamer snickered at the thought.

“Focus,” J’onn grumbled. “That shot from that third eye wasn’t your average energy blast,” he continued, eyes still firmly on the alien, who was laughing as he perched himself in the indentation of his ship.

The magenta man stood up and floated forward, hovering in the air above them. “Correct. J’onn J’onzzes before you figured that out  _ before _ being shot by them. You are not their equal,” he scoffed.

Kara cocked her head to the side. “J’onn J’onzzes… You’re not from our universe, are you?”

A small smile crept onto the visitor’s face. “No. Before you paragons destroyed the multiverse, I traveled to countless worlds in countless realities, hunting the Martian Manhunter and his despicable Justice League, but now I am stuck here! In the lone universe without a foe worthy of the mighty Despero!” he exclaimed as he flexed his arms.

“Oh wow, you’re so modest!” Nia snorted. Alex slapped her on the shoulder as she herself was giggling.

“SILENCE!” Despero snarled. His third eye lit up and shot a blast towards them. Supergirl’s eyes flared immediately and met the blast with her own heat vision.

While the two were in a stalemate, J’onn flew into the air. Before the Manhunter could get close, Despero broke off from his staredown with Supergirl and kicked himself backwards, away from the Martian’s grasp.

Accompanied by a loud growl of anger, Despero’s third eye began glowing with a pulsating pattern. A second later a powerful concussive pulse erupted from him in all directions, flinging J’onn backwards and forcing Supergirl, Dreamer, and Alex to the ground.

Supergirl was the first to recover. Red with anger, she launched herself up towards Despero, fists first, but the magenta alien was prepared for her. As she got close, Despero’s third eye began swirling with purple haze, and glared at Supergirl. They only maintained eye contact for a second, but it was all the time that was needed. Suddenly, Kara’s eyes glazed over with a purple film. The Kryptonian let out a shriek as she gripped her head with both hands. Supergirl went from flying to tumbling through the sky in the direction her momentum was taking her. It was a high arc before slamming back down onto the ground with a thud. The impact created a small crater in the grass, where Kara laid, motionless.

Dreamer screamed at the sight of her friend tumbling uncontrollably through the air. With both of her hands pointed up, she shot a series of blue energy rings at Despero, who yelled in pain as they hit him.

J’onn took the chance to charge Despero again. This time he was able to get both of his hands on Despero’s head. Already disoriented from Dreamer’s blasts, the finned foe howled out in pain as the Martian Manhunter launched a telepathic attack on him. After struggling for a moment, Despero was able to wrench himself away from the Manhunter’s grip, breaking the attack.

Desperate, Despero let out another concussive pulse, this one weaker than before, but enough to distract the Super Friends, allowing him to flee through the air.

The Martian Manhunter shook his head to clear it of the pulse’s effects. It only took a second to realize what had happened.

“Take care of Supergirl! I’ll pursue Despero!” J’onn called down before soaring off after the magenta menace.

Alex and Nia helped each other to their feet, then took off running towards where Supergirl was still laying.

“Supergirl! Supergirl!” Alex shrieked as they reached her. The redhead dropped to her knees and cradled her unconscious sister’s head.

The Super was still breathing, and didn’t appear to be physically harmed in any way, but she refused to wake up.

“Here, let me try,” Dreamer said, herself kneeling next to Alex. They gently laid Kara’s head on Nia’s lap. The dark brunette softly placed her fingers on Kara’s forehead. Nia’s eyes fell closed as she concentrated. After a moment a look of pain washed over Dreamer’s face. Suddenly her eyes shot open, making her fall backwards.

“Are you alright?! What happened?” Alex asked, helping Nia back up.

“Despero did something to her mind, Alex. It’s…” Nia took a breath as she bit her lip.

“...I think we’re going to need more help.”

* * *

Lena was leaning against the front of her desk, watching the video screen that was mounted on the wall. Like many in the city, Lena had tuned into the news as reports and rumors had been spreading about the spaceship landing and the subsequent fight. The screen was muted with the subtitles on, allowing the sound of the deep breath Lena took to fill the space of her office, broken by a sip of her lunch, two fingers of Chivas Regal 12 year old scotch. Nothing else but top shelf will do to keep the anxiety of watching her supposed friends risk their life at bay.

Footage was sketchy, but through the graininess it was obvious that this new alien was quite the foe for the Super Friends.

A commotion just outside of her door pulled Lena out of her thoughts. The door swung open as Brainiac 5 barged into the office, unannounced but walking with purpose. Trailing just behind him was Jess.

“Sir, for the last time, Miss Luthor doesn’t—” the assistant began.

“It’s alright, Jess,” Lena chuckled. “Mr. Dox is allowed in whenever he wants.”

Jess stopped short, opened and closed her mouth a few times before simply nodding and leaving the room, closing the doors behind her.

Querl Dox stood, in an unbuttoned shirt over a band tee shirt whose logo was mostly covered up, and fitted blue jeans, with his hands clasped together behind his back, watching Jess leave. As soon as the door clicked shut his head whipped around to find Lena.

“Brainy, it’s good to see you,” Lena offered, setting her drink down to flatten the front of her lavender button-down blouse, with rolled up sleeves, that was tucked into black slacks. She pushed herself off the desk and began strolling towards her friend.

“Supergirl needs our help,” Brainy blurted out, skipping over pleasantries.

It made Lena stop short. A light chuckle escaped the CEO. Her gaze wandered from Brainy, looking off to the side as a smirk formed on her face. “Ah, of course,” she sighed, folding her arms tightly over her chest. “A spaceship swoops into National City and suddenly the Super Friends remember I exist.”

The first sign to Lena that something was off was Brainy’s arm movements. They were much livelier than usual, often a sign that Brainy was either excited or nervous. “Lena, I understand your current frustration, but did you not hear me? Supergirl… Kara, needs our help.”

Using Kara’s name had to be a deliberate method of attack on Brainiac 5’s part, Lena was sure of it. The Luthor had no intention of succumbing to whatever game he was playing. Lena simply let out a grunt and turned around, grabbed her drink and walked over to her window that looked out to the balcony, and the city beyond.

“Must be serious,” Lena announced loudly, before taking a sip. “Afterall, they took the time to contact me, it must be quite dire.” she mused, every word dripping with sarcasm. Her vision still focused on the view from her window, Lena held up her glass, now down to less than one finger. “Perhaps I was in the middle of something that needed to be finished first. Perhaps—”

“—Kara’s hurt!” Brainiac 5 shoved into the middle of Lena’s sentence.

The raven-haired woman froze. Suddenly her blood felt like ice running through her veins under clammy skin. Her jaw clenched as Brainiac 5’s statement settled in.

“Some kind of psychic attack. It has left her in a comatose state,” Brainy continued, “and thus far nothing has been able to wake her up.”

A silence fell over the room, as everything seemed to stop in place. Brainiac 5 stood, hands steepled together in front of his stomach, staring at Lena, who hadn’t budged. The green-eyed CEO could feel her heart racing in her chest, her only indication that time was still moving. She could feel Brainiac 5’s eyes burrowing into the back of her head. No doubt he was sporting his sad furrowed brow that had an almost lost puppy quality about it.

Try as she might to focus on just about anything else, Lena’s attention kept snapping back to the heart in her chest. For all the anger, and anguish, and all the need to project a sense of uncaring, a few simple words and her heart was laying itself bare as it pounded in her chest, betraying her.

Lena swallowed a deep breath, before spinning around on her heels. She shot Brainiac 5 a blank look as she pressed the intercom button on her desk phone.

“Yes, Miss Luthor?” Jess’ voice squeaked over the intercom.

“Call Frank, tell him to have my car ready downstairs in five minutes, okay?” Lena calmly commanded. Jess acknowledged the order, parroting it back for confirmation. There was a click as the assistant hung up so she could jump to work.

When Lena finally looked up, Brainy was giving her a small smile. The Luthor rolled her eyes at it, but was smiling back. She set her glass down and grabbed a tablet off her desk before striding around her desk and towards Brainiac 5.

“No sense in wasting anymore time,” Lena said, receiving a nod from Brainy. The two began walking side-by-side at a brisk pace out of the office.

* * *

Even before the fall of the DEO, J’onn had felt that it in a “Lex Luthor owns the DEO” world, relying on the organization for anything was a dangerous game. As such, he had invested a considerable amount of time expanding the Tower for the needs of the Super Friends. Training rooms, an armory, a laboratory, a kitchen, and an infirmary were all in various states of construction on the upper two floors of the building where the Tower resided.

Another smart decision that J’onn had made was making sure to finish the infirmary first. While not as extravagant as the DEO’s, the Tower’s infirmary had all the necessities: counters and cabinets full of medical supplies for a variety of species, from humans to dominators, machines and equipment everywhere, a few chairs here and there, and a couple beds, including a sunlamp bed just for Kryptonians.

Currently, Kara was laying on one of the regular beds, still in her Supergirl costume, with a small device taped to her head to monitor and record her brain patterns. For the most part, she was still, but every now and again she’d writhe, and let out a soft groan of pain.

Nia had tried delving into Kara’s mind when they got her to the Tower, but she was still unable to. Whatever Despero had done to Kara’s brain, trying to enter it was like immediately being thrown into a washing machine in the middle of its spin cycle. Even J’onn tried when he returned, to no avail. Unable to help Kara directly, the Martian didn’t stay long, electing to head back out to try to look for Despero, who had eluded him.

Not long after J’onn left, Lena and Brainy arrived. It was a tense first moment, but mutual concern for Kara quickly took priority as the group focused on the task at hand. After monitoring her brain activity for a while, a working, but not guaranteed, solution was formed.

It seemed that Kara’s brain was a tumultuous storm and there was a real fear that doing something to suddenly halt that storm could be dangerous in its own right. So it was decided that they’d build a stabilizer device for Nia to help her navigate those rocky waters. Brainiac 5, Alex, and Lena moved to the laboratory across the hall and got to work. It took less than an hour for Brainy and Lena to figure out how to make the device. During that time, Alex mostly stayed out of their way, and answered questions about Kara’s physiology as they were asked.

They worked on constructing the device mostly in silence. Not a bad silence, though, more of a “everyone is concentrating and focused on their tasks” sort of silence. At least, those that had tasks.

“The pacing isn’t helpful,” Lena said as she was hunched over a workbench in the center of the room, soldering a microchip into the stabilizer, which had taken the form of a simple circlet for Nia to wear. The Luthor’s comment had been directed at Alex, the guilty pacer.

Alex didn’t say anything, electing to simply answer with a low grumble. Her pacing came to a halt just behind Lena. The redhead leaned forward, peering over the raven-haired woman’s shoulder.

“ _ That _ is definitely not helping,” Lena sighed when Alex’s face crept into the periphery of her field of vision. She sat up slightly, to encourage Alex moving back.

“Sorry!” Alex huffed. “I’m just worried about my sister.”

“Yes, we share your concern for Kara, Alex,” Brainiac 5 offered as he appeared on the other side of the workbench Lena was working on.

“At least you get to do something about it,” Alex sighed, letting herself flop against a separate workbench a few feet away.

Setting her soldering equipment down, Lena took a deep breath, then slid off the stool and walked over to Alex.

The redhead met the approaching Luthor with a steely gaze, stopping Lena in her tracks. It wasn’t sustainable, though, within seconds Alex let out a long sigh as her posture seemed to deflate, along with the intensity of her stare.

“I just feel so useless,” Alex confessed, gripping the edges of the workbench tightly.

“Well,” Lena said, then paused, her eyes dropping as she tried to plan out what she wanted to say. “You are, right now.”

An unplanned guffaw escaped out of Alex's mouth. “Wow, great pep-talk there, Luthor!”

Lena closed her eyes and began rubbing her forehead, as she often did when she was frustrated. Despite having such a warm, caring heart, years and years of emotionally manipulative and abusive relationships with her family and constant betrayals by the people she cared the most about had left Lena’s ability to comfort somewhat lacking. It was something that she had worked hard at improving upon, but the last year had undone so much of that work.

“I didn’t…” Lena huffed. “Alex, you were very useful. You knew what kind of problem this would be so you called Brainy and I.” Lena’s expression softened considerably as the Luthor lifted a hand to give Alex’s bicep a squeeze. “ More importantly, you’re here for your sister in a time of need. That is not being useless.”

Softness wasn’t something Alex had been expecting from Lena. According to Kara, despite putting up a steely exterior for the world to see, Lena Luthor was soft and squishy, through and through. The redhead hummed a laugh at that, remembering all the times that she had tried to explain to her younger sister that it was a hard thing to picture because Kara apparently got to see a different Lena Luthor than most people did. As they had gotten to know each other, Alex had been witness to glimpses of it, here and there. She knew it existed, but after everything that had happened between Lena and the Super Friends, seeing that side of Lena again was somewhat startling.

And a lot comforting.

“Thanks,” Alex breathed, patting the pale hand that was resting on her arm. Lena acknowledged the gratitude with a simple nod.

There wasn’t much time for the moment to linger, though, as within a few seconds Brainy appeared, standing between them. The two women pulled their hands back to their own bodies as their attention turned to the Coluan. Without saying a word, he held up the stabilizer circlet, holding it gently with both hands.

“Is it?” Alex asked, her voice cracking.

“Completed, and ready for use,” Brainy answered.

Alex’s face lit up instantly. “Do you need to tell Nia how to use it?”

Brainiac 5 faltered, making a tiny croaking sound instead of speaking, having to clear his throat a few times, while pushing the circlet onto Alex, who was basically forced to take it into her hands.

“She should… That is… Easy. Her…

“NO! Nia’s not easy. She’s… Hard… NO,” Brainiac 5 was stuttering. At the last ‘no’ he slammed his eyes closed as he scrunched up one side of his face, clearly embarrassed by the deteriorating train of thought. “She’s not… hard. She’s…”

“It’s simple to use. All Nia has to do is press the button on the side, and set it on her head. I could use Brainy’s help here,” Lena interjected, no longer able to idly stand by and watch the trainwreck. Brainiac 5 looked immensely relieved, visibly sighing. Even Alex appeared happy to see her friend put out of his misery. “We’re going to download all the data on Kara’s brain scans and head back to L-Corp.”

The information caused Alex to raise an eyebrow.

Lena folded her arms together and raised her own eyebrow, a slick grin accompanying it. “Well this will let Nia help Kara this time, but what happens when this Despero comes back? You’re going to be vulnerable all over again.”

“And you already have an idea, don’t you?” Alex asked, a confident smirk forming on her face.

“Of course,” Lena fired back immediately. “What I really need though is going to be brain scans of Kara after she’s healed.”

“I’ll let you know when she’s recovered,” Alex said. The elder Danvers extended a hand out. Lena reached for it, shaking it confidently. “Thank you, Lena.”

“Well, I’m a Super Friend now, right? Only right I pull my own weight,” the raven-haired woman smirked.

With that, Alex gave her and Brainy a nod then practically ran out the door. Lena’s focus lingered on the door as her thoughts drifted. While it hurt that Kara only ever seemed to need her in emergency Supergirl situations, Lena had to admit that it was a pleasant feeling to be needed by these people that she once called friends. It almost made her wonder if she could come to call them that again eventually.

“I was under the impression that you were no longer interested in working with the Super Friends,” Brainy calmly said. He was standing just next to Lena, letting his eyes focus in the same direction as her, with a smug grin on his face.

The CEO chuckled and shook her head. “Oh good, you’re able to form complete sentences again,” she shot back.

“Fair enough,” Brainy conceded.

“And here I thought you were hanging around L-Corp because the Super Friends still hadn’t forgiven you,” Lena mused as she turned to face her friend. “When the truth is that Alex seemed completely fine with you, which makes me think that perhaps it’s just  _ one  _ Super Friend that hasn’t forgiven you.”

Brainy opened and closed his mouth a few times before anything came out. His field of vision was drifting up, a sign that he was carefully trying to process his thoughts before speaking.

“She… has forgiven me,” Brainy admitted. He flexed his fingers a few times, which seemed to help Brainy settle himself. “As I have come to learn, there is a difference between forgiveness and acceptance.”

There was a pause. Brainiac 5’s eyelids became heavy, as did his head, both lowering so that he was squinting at the floor.

“I believe I may have broken that… that “thing” that we had, and I fear there may not be a way to put it back together,” he said, voice barely louder than a whisper.

A sensation jolted Brainiac 5 out of his wallowing. His attention snapped to the hand resting on his shoulder. Just in front of him, Lena stood, with the softest, most comforting smile he had seen on the Luthor in some time.

“Perhaps. Or, perhaps the two of you simply need to find a way to rebuild that “thing” together,” Lena offered.

“You have been in love,” Brainiac 5 flatly stated. The statement visibly shook Lena. The Coluan said it as such a mere statement of fact, but Lena was more dubious about believing the claim. Regardless of the reaction Lena had, Brainy pressed on. “How did you know what love was worth fighting for, and what was not?”

The moment didn’t call for it, Lena knew that, but she couldn’t help but snicker at Brainy’s question. “And why on Earth would you think I knew anything about that, Mr. Dox?”

Lena chuckled again as she strolled back over to the workbench and began tidying up. “I’ve been in love? Are you referring to Andrea, who I loved so much that the first time she betrayed my trust I exorcised her from every facet of my life without hesitation? Maybe you mean Jack, who I loved so deeply that I willingly abandoned him to move my company across the country for a fresh start.” Lena looked over her shoulder at Brainiac 5, who was slowly making his way towards her, hands steepled in front of his stomach. There was a smile on the black-haired woman’s face, that mixed with a glare to produce something that you didn’t need to be a twelfth level intellect to understand meant “danger!”

“Oh, you must be referring to James,” the Luthor continued, unceremoniously tossing the tools strewn out on the workbench into the toolbox. “A love so true that the only thing we actually agreed on was that we didn’t work together.”

“I was not,” Brainy said, now standing just next to Lena. “Referring to any of those instances, that is.”

For a moment, Lena couldn’t do anything but stare icily at Brainiac 5, who remained calm, curious, but confident in his ideas. A long sigh escaped the Luthor, seemingly deflating her will to fight.

“We have to get back to my lab as soon as possible,” Lena pushed out, desperately hoping that Brainiac 5 would understand it for what it was: an admission of defeat, and a plea for a truce.

“Yes, of course,” Brainiac 5 answered, nodding. The duo finished cleaning up the lab before downloading all the data they could to help them with their work of figuring out how to stop Despero.

* * *

Alex and Lena had latched onto the metaphor that Kara’s mind had been a raging storm, but that wasn’t quite right. The first two times Nia had tried entering Kara’s mind, it was more like landing in the middle of a tornado, images and memories swirling around her every which way, creating an impenetrable wall of chaos around her in every direction.

This time, thanks to the stabilizer, Nia was greeted with a calmness. There was almost nothing but an empty blackness all around her, with some hazy gray denoting the edges of what seemed like walls and floors. Despite any source of light, Nia found that she was able to see herself in full color, dressed as she had been when awake, in a pastel yellow, floral print sundress with a denim crop jacket on top. If there’s one thing that Dreamer had come to learn to accept as she had studied her powers, it was that applying the logic and rules of the outside world onto one’s mind was a fool’s errand.

“Kara?” the young hero called out. She took a couple steps forward, in an attempt to find the edges of the space she was in. Less than ten paces ahead, she bumped into what passed for a wall, a pitch black surface that was barely discernible from the rest of the darkness around her, save for the faint gray haze emitting from the edges where the wall touched the floor and ceiling. Nia ran her fingers along the wall, which somehow felt both solid and empty, a rather unpleasant sensation. Still, she could feel a connection to Kara as she touched it.

Nia closed her eyes and concentrated. Blue light began emanating from her fingers, spreading over the patch of wall she was touching before dissipating into the dark void. Even with the circlet, sorting through Kara’s mind was a struggle. Dreamer tried concentrating even harder, pushing herself to the brink, until the strain forced her eyes open. To her shock, she could see her reflection in the wall, which now seemed more like glass. Her eyes were pupiless, and glowing a bright sky blue. Beyond the glass wall was what seemed to be thousands of puzzle pieces, each with small images that Nia could barely make out. Somehow Nia instinctively knew what to do. All of her focus was on the pieces as she pressed both hands to the glass wall. One by one, the pieces began glowing blue along the edges before they slowly started drifting towards each other and locking together in place.

It was slow at first, but as more came together the momentum picked up, until soon the last piece locked itself into place. Nia couldn’t help but grin at the now completed puzzle, thousands of tiny snippets of Kara’s life. A light washed over the puzzle, then shot out, directly toward Nia. When the light hit the glass between it and Nia , it created a force so strong it knocked Nia down onto her back.

At first, Nia wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she didn’t have to dwell on it for long. The sound of a whimper grabbed Nia’s attention as she laid there, staring up at the ceiling. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up to her knees. Across the room was Kara, dressed in the same navy-blue, polka dotted shirt and gray pants as she had been in the real world, sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried between them.

Nia clamored to her feet and rushed to her, calling out the blonde’s name. As she reached Kara, Nia dropped to her knees, and rubbed her hand along Kara’s shoulder blades.

“Kara. Kara, I’m here! Everything’s going to be okay,” Nia assured her. At first, it didn’t seem like the huddled woman had heard her friend. After a few seconds, though, she began to raise her head. Eyes, normally bright and blue, were puffy and bloodshot.

“N-Nia?” the blonde croaked.

“I’m right here.” Slowly and gently, Nia pulled Kara up to her feet. She was a little shaky at first, holding onto Nia’s arms firmly until she was able to find her balance.

Once Kara stopped teetering, she gave Nia a weak smile, and allowed her friend to wipe her tear-stained cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. The brunette pulled Kara into a tight hug. “Don’t worry, Kara. We’re going to get you out of this.”

“Where, or, what, is this?” Kara asked, pulling back from the hug just enough to take in her surroundings. The bridge of her nose scrunched up as a look of confusion settled onto her face. “Why was I crying?”

A brief rundown of where they were, and what had happened, left Kara frowning. “I don’t… If you fixed me, then why do I feel numb still?”

The question made Nia bite her lip. She put her hand up to the sides of Kara’s head, and tried to focus. As she did, they both heard what sounded like a light breeze blowing through a tree, gently rustling the leaves. Nia turned to her left, the direction the noise had come from. Next to them was now a long hallway with doors on each side, and one at the very end. The floor and walls of the hallway were a dull gray, which made the brightly colored doors stand out all the more. Hazy halogen lights were mounted on the ceiling, crackling and filling the hall with a pale yellow light.

“I think that’s our answer,” Nia mumbled. She grabbed one of Kara’s hands and led her into the hallway. As soon as they stepped into it, there was a noise behind them that sounded like something sizzling on a grill. They both turned back to see a solid wall just behind them. “No turning back, I guess,” the brunette sighed.

The first door was just a few feet away. It was a faded hunter green, seemed to be made of wood, and cracked in many places. A metal plaque was mounted about two thirds of the way up the door. On it, in big black letters was the word “FEAR”, with the phrase “worst case” printed just underneath it.

“Oh! I see!” Nia chirped, snapping her fingers. “I put your memories back together, but now we have to fix your emotions.”

“How do we do that?” Kara asked, a blank expression on her face.

“Only one way to find out,” Nia said with a nod. She gave Kara’s hand a firm squeeze, then reached for the handle of the door.

* * *

Nia fell hard onto the ground. For a moment she just laid there, trying to get her bearings. A second ago she was in the hallway, opening the door, and now she was laying on a patch of damp grass with mud seeping into the front of her dress. Thanks to the mud, and the slight slope that she was on, climbing to her feet took some effort. Once she did she was able to take in her surroundings, which brought no comfort. It was a gray, dreary day, clouds blotting out any hint of a sun, the occasional roar of thunder booming around her. Even more distressing was the fact that she was standing at the edge of a cemetery, but not a real one, the kind that exist in horror movies. Rusted wrought iron fences with withered bushes overtaking them surrounding the perimeter. Rolling hills of grass that seemed as dead as the occupants buried there, tombstones crooked and haphazardly placed. Breaking the eerie silence was a slow, repetitive noise that sounded like scratching.

And Kara was nowhere to be found.

Calling for her did nothing. Nia let out a long sigh. Knowing Kara, and knowing her current soundings, Nia had a suspicion deep in the pit of her stomach. It made her hesitate.

“This isn’t real. This isn’t real,” Nia had to repeat to herself a few times. “Kara needs you,” she finally settled on. With a confident nod, brunette made her way into the cemetery. Soft, damp earth and hilly terrain made the journey a slow going one. The first tombstone, sitting alone on the top of the first hill she crested, was blank, which gave Nia a sense of hope that she was perhaps wrong.

At least, until she got to the second hill. There were three tombstones on the hill, with one promemently in the center. Nia’s heart dropped as soon as she got in range to read it: Alex Danvers. After a few more feet she was able to read the one just behind Alex’s, to the left: Eliza Danvers. A couple feet away from Eliza’s was the other of the trio: Lena Luthor. Nia reached the top and sighed, her initial suspicions confirmed.

The top of the hill provided Nia with a good view. Just on the other side of the hill, the ground flattened out, and was dotted with dozens and dozens of tombstones. In the very center was Kara, digging a grave with a shovel, the source of the faint scratching noise.

It was an unpleasant stroll for Nia, making her way around so many graves, many with names she knew well: Jeremiah Danvers, J’onn J’onzz, James Olsen, Kelly Olsen, Querl Dox. Others that she didn’t know so well: Clark Kent, Barry West-Allen, Iris West-Allen, Kate Kane, Oliver Queen. Some she didn’t recognize at all. There was one, Lillian Luthor, that surprised her, but she didn’t dare dwell on it at the moment.

Finally, Nia reached the grave Kara was digging. The blonde didn’t make any indication that she knew Nia was there, she just kept diligently digging. Nia gulped when she read the tombstone: Nia Nal.

“Of course it would be,” Nia muttered, before hopping down into her grave with Kara. She tried calling for Kara, but got no acknowledgement. As soon as Nia put a hand on Kara’s hunched over back, the blonde simply stopped in place. “Kara?” Nia called again. This time, she slowly stood up and turned to face Nia. Her clothes and skin were caked in dirt, except for streaks running down her cheeks where she had been crying.

“I couldn’t save you,” Kara whispered, her voice trembling. “I couldn’t save anyone.”

“That’s not true, I’m right here, Kara!” Nia said, grabbing both of her shoulders.

Kara looked down, and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “No. Krypton. I couldn’t…”

“There’s nothing you could have done for Krypton. You were just a child!” Nia argued. Kara looked at Nia again, cocking her head to the side. It was easy to see the internal argument she was having by her facial expressions, before once again shaking her head and lowering it.

“No. Alex. Lena. I… I couldn’t save anyone… It’s my fault.”

“Look at me!” Nia growled, giving Kara a shake. “None of that’s true! Alex is alive and fine. Lena is alive and fine.” Nia twisted Kara and pointed at the tombstone that was just in front of them. “This is all a lie. This is  _ my  _ grave! But I’m alive! I’m fine!”

The blonde took a long minute to stare at the tombstone, then turned back to stare at Nia. She repeated this a few times, each time her mouth dropping open a little wider. The brunette broke this loop by grabbing both of Kara’s hands and lifting them up to Nia’s face. Kara’s dirty fingers slowly drug down Nia’s cheeks.

“See? I’m real,” Nia assured her, and gently giggled at the fact that this was technically a lie, being an astral projection of her, not her physical form. Thankfully Kara was in no condition to broach the complicated detail.

“Nia,” Kara murmured, a grin finally beginning to form on the blonde’s face.

“Your friends? Your family? We’re still here, Kara.”

The clouds in the sky started to dissipate, allowing slivers of sunlight to shine down. One hit Kara’s face, making the blue in her eyes sparkle. She gave Nia’s shoulders a squeeze before nodding at her. Kara couldn’t explain it, but she suddenly had an uncontrollable urge that she felt like she needed to give into. She turned away from Nia and glared at the tombstone in front of her before wrenching an arm back, and swinging at the tombstone with full force.

* * *

Just as Kara’s fist made contact with the tombstone, she suddenly found herself stumbling into the gray hallway until she slammed into the wall. Nia also found herself in the hallway, stumbling into Kara. They both stood there, leaning together against the wall, motionless.

A light chuckle from Nia broke the silence. It was followed by a chuckle from Kara, which made Nia laugh even more, until Kara pulled them into a hug, both laughing hysterically, unsure of what they were even laughing about.

Once the laughing finally died down, Nia pushed herself off of Kara, and helped pull the blonde off the wall. They looked behind them, only to find that the “Fear” door was gone.

“How do you feel?” Nia asked.

Kara gave it some thought. Her face settled into a sad smirk. “I feel… afraid. Of being stuck here. Of losing everyone. I’m so scared of the day that I can’t save the people I love,” she sniffled.

Nia pulled her back into a hug. “We believe in you Kara,” she sighed into Kara’s ear. “But more importantly, you have to believe in us. We’re all in this together. If.  _ If  _ the time ever comes when Alex’s life, or Lena’s life, or any of our lives, are in danger, you won’t have to do it alone. The rest of us will be right here.” Kara didn’t say anything in response, but Nia knew that she had gotten through as the hug grew tighter.

“Can I ask something?” Nia ventured when they pulled apart. Kara nodded. “Back there, in the cemetery, why the heck was Lillian Luthor one of the tombstones? Everyone else seemed to be people that you’d actually miss.”

It took Kara a moment to answer. Sifting through thoughts and memories without emotional attachment was a weird sensation that made the process just a bit harder.

“Well,” Kara said when she finally found the answer she was looking for. “Despite everything, Lena’s always hoped that she could get through to her mother. She’s always believed that somewhere in Lillian was a person worth saving. So, if Lena thinks she’s worth saving, then I guess deep down I do too.”

The explanation made Nia clutch her chest. “That is so sweet!”

“Is it?” Kara asked, genuinely unable to discern the truth at the moment.

Nia wrapped her arm around Kara and began leading her to the next door. “Why don’t we get you some more emotions besides just being scared.”

From there they continued down the hall, going through each emotion door and working their way through the scenarios that were presented to them. Some were difficult, with Nia having to do what she could to get Kara to confront her feelings, such as the Strength challenge, where Nia had to get Kara to confront her concerns about being too powerful in a fragile world before she was able to free the two of them who were stuck under a collapsed building. Some were more benign and didn’t require as much help, like the Boredom challenge, which entailed Nia simply having to encourage Kara to sit through one of Andrea’s staff meetings. Some were downright fun, like the Craving challenge, where Kara had to compete in a potsticker eating contest. Nia wasn’t needed at all for that one, she simply watched from the crowd and cheered on her friend.

There was no telling how long it took to work their way down the hallway. It felt like days, but Nia was pretty sure what when they eventually woke up, it’d most likely be the same day. Perhaps even the same hour. The dream realm was weird like that.

At long last, they were at the final door at the very end of the hallway. As they had gone, as Kara was becoming more and more like the Kara Danvers that Nia knew and loved, she had gotten more brazen about the challenges. Yet, here at the final door, they were lingering. A look of deep trepidation was on Kara’s face as she stared at the old, pink-colored wooden door with a plaque that read “LOVE”.

“Maybe we can just skip this one,” Kara mumbled.

“Absolutely not!” Nia responded. “I don’t want to live in a world where Kara Danvers is devoid of love.”

“But, I feel so close to whole again… Maybe it’s better to leave this one be.”

“Kara, what do you feel about me?” Nia asked, drawing the blonde’s attention from the door.

It took a moment for Kara to respond, taking her time to get a good look at Nia.

“I feel… fondness,” she finally said.

The answer made Nia snort. “Fondness? Kara, you are my mentor, and hero, at CatCo. And you’re my mentor as a superhero! More importantly, though, you’re my friend. You’re my family, there for me even when my sister was awful. Does ‘fondness’ really sound right for that?”

“No. No I guess not,” Kara sighed, rubbing her chin. “There’s a… hole, when I think about you. Just like there’s a giant hole when I think about Alex.” The blonde took a deep breath then turned to the door. She reached out and ran it along the edges of the plaque. “I know I need to see this through. It’s just… Even though the door says ‘love’, there’s a lot of pain in there. I don’t know how, but I can feel it.”

Nia pulled Kara into a tight side hug. “Do you know what’s in store for us?” she asked. Kara shook her head. Nia leaned her head on Kara’s shoulder, who in turned leaned her head gently against Nia’s “Painful, huh?” Kara responded with a soft nod.

“Maybe this is about that Mon-El guy?” Nia ventured after a moment of racking her brain.

The name made Kara lift up her head and stare at Nia, a crinkle forming on her brow. “I-I don’t know. Maybe?”

The two pondered in silence for a moment, both fixed again on the door. “The Perfect Day,” Nia said, reading the subtitle on the plaque on the door. “Maybe it’s a day together the two of you never got to have,” Nia suggested. Kara just shrugged. “Well, whatever it is, whatever love it shows you, whatever pain it makes you confront, I’m here for you,” Nia comforted, tightening the arm around her friend.

“Thank you,” Kara responded. She took a step forward and opened the door.

Immediately everything felt different than all the others. Instead of being dropped into someplace, Nia found herself standing alone in the middle of a dark room, with only a three foot diameter area around her that was lit up. From what she could see, she was standing on a white stone tiled floor, one that Nia didn’t recognize. As she tried to look around, everything seemed to be in obscuring shadows, blurring and hiding all the details.

“Kara?” Nia called out. Suddenly, a light caught the corner of her eye. Nia turned to see Kara some twenty feet away. She was wearing her super suit, holding what looked like a paper bag of groceries, standing in a doorway that seemed to lead outside, the hints of a bright, sunny day over her shoulder. On her face was a grimace, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she fidgeted in place.

“You’re fighting,” Nia said. Even trying to take a step towards Kara felt like wading through quicksand. “Kara, please. I don’t know what this is, but you have to go through it. It’s the only way you’re going to be whole again!”

Supergirl simply stood there, chewing on her lip as her brows arched farther and farther upward. “Maybe… maybe I’m better off without it.”

“There’s no way that’s true!” Nia pleaded, attempting to take another step, every muscle in her leg aching from the struggle. “I know it hurts! I’m sure it hurts a lot.” Nia paused, her own words hitting her. She clutched her chest, and sighed. “It… It sucks.”

Before Nia could continue, Supergirl winced so hard it forced her eyes shut. She dropped the bag of groceries, then spun around and flew away.

“NO!” Nia screamed. She tried to force herself forward, but was completely frozen in place now. “No! Kara, come back! Come ba—”

* * *

Without warning, Supergirl shot up into a sitting position on the infirmary bed. At about the same time, Nia violently jostled awake in the plain wooden chair that she had been sitting in next to Kara’s bed. The momentum threw Nia onto the ground, the stabilizer circlet sliding off her head and skittering across the floor.

The sudden commotion startled Alex, who had been pacing around the infirmary so much she almost wore a groove into the linoleum floor. It only took her a few seconds to understand what was happening. Alex darted for her sister, feeling a slight tinge of guilt over her decision to not help Nia up, but the small smile Kara was shooting at her as she reached the bed was worth it.

“You’re okay!” Alex cried, throwing her arms over her sister’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

“Hi Alex,” Kara giggled as she leaned into the hug.

“I’m okay too, by the way,” Nia grumbled as she pulled herself up by the edge of the bed.

“Sorry,” Alex chuckled.

The older Danvers pulled away from her sister enough to take her in. “I am so happy that you’re awake,” Alex crooned.

The statement made Kara smirk. “Happy,” she mumbled. The Kryptonian tried smiling at Alex again, but felt a sudden rush of pain through her body as she did. She doubled over, clutching her chest. Nia and Alex tried to brace her to keep her from falling off the bed.

“Kara?! Kara, what’s wrong?!” Alex screamed. She looked up at Nia from across the gurney. “What’s wrong with her?!” All Nia could do was frown.

Within a minute, Kara’s pain subsided. She straightened back up, and met Alex’s gaze. To Alex’s worry, Kara has a wide-eyed, panicked expression on her face. The blonde looked over to Nia, then slid herself off the bed.

In no time, Kara was marching out of the infirmary. Alex and Nia gave chase, calling after her, but their human and half-human legs were no match to keep up with a Kryptonian. They both reached the main room of the Tower just in time to see Supergirl launch herself into the sky from the balcony.

The two women stood in the middle of the main room for a while before speaking, both of them just staring at the empty space on the balcony where Kara had just been.

“She’s not okay,” Nia mumbled.

* * *

Shoved in the corner of Kara’s bedroom was a small, metal, yellow desk. A cheap looking thing that’d be gaudy in most homes, but in Kara Danvers’ apartment, it matched the shelving unit on the other side of the bedroom, and complimented the blue seafoam furniture littered through the apartment. The desk didn’t have much surface space, but it was enough for a laptop. Or at least, it would have enough space if it wasn’t already overflowing with an array of junk. There was mail strewn all over it, a stack of books that Kara hadn’t finished sorting, a shoebox full of printed out photos for collages that were definitely going to be made someday, a pile of socks that Kara was fairly sure were clean, and a blue plush bunny that usually resided on the bed, but had taken refuse on the desk during the last sheet changing and hadn’t made their way back yet.

Nothing on top of the desk was of interest to Kara at the moment. The deep drawer that was built into the desk was where her focus was. Currently she was sitting on a pulled out yellow chair that had come with the desk, just next to the wide open drawer. What Kara was after had been tucked away deep in the back corner of the cluttered draw, but was currently in her hands.

A ball made of gold, a little larger than a marble, was slowly being turned over and over between Kara’s fingers. It seemed unremarkable, not even being a smooth sphere. In fact, its shape could have been accurately described as “quite lumpy”. Nevertheless, the small, metal ball held Kara’s full attention.

So enraptured with it was Kara, that she didn’t even notice Alex and Nia approaching her apartment until the door was creaking open. At the sound of her door slamming shut, and her sister’s voice calling her name, Kara sprung to her feet, a sense of unease tingling over her entire body. She quickly knocked the drawer closed with her foot, and pocketed the small, lumpy, golden ball. With a deep breath, Kara ran her hands down her front, smoothing the thin, beige sweater, and blue jeans that she had changed into, then slowly ambled into the common area of her apartment with all the nervousness of being caught snooping around the liquor cabinet by your parents.

“Kara!” Alex gasped, the relief obvious in her voice. She met her sister near the couch and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Sorry for worrying you,” Kara apologized, running her hands down the center of Alex’s back as they embraced.

Dusk’s warm glow seeped into the high windows of Kara’s apartment. It had been six hours since their lunchtime rendezvous with Despero, and Alex had been on edge ever since. Which was why Alex allowed herself to linger in their hug for a while, content for the moment to appreciate that her sister was up and about, and in general good spirits, despite her one glaring hole that was yet to be filled.

The older Danvers sister pulled out of the hug eventually, and gave her sister’s arms a squeeze. “Nia explained everything to me,” Alex said with a warm, comforting voice, that just made the hard slap against Kara’s chest all the more surprising. Kara winced at it, even though it didn’t actually hurt. Alex had long ago mastered just how hard to hit Kara to convey “I’m pissed at you” without actually hurting her own hand, and Kara had learned to respond accordingly, part of the social contract the sisters had built for themselves.

“What were you thinking?!” Alex scolded. Kara took a step back and whimpered. The redhead quickly reclosed the distance between them, not letting her sister pull away.

“I was thinking…” Kara began, but trailed off, her eyelids falling shut, heavy from everything that had happened.

Alex took Kara’s hands into her own. “Kara, you need to feel love. Your gigantic heart is what makes you ‘you’. It’s your greatest superpower.”

Kara let out a deep, body deflating sigh. “I know that there was nothing healthy or good about leaving a part of you turned off… I’m just so scared.”

“I get it,” Alex crooned, rubbing her thumbs over her sister’s knuckles. “Love hasn’t always been easy for you. But Kara, if you shut that part of you off completely, you’ll  _ never _ find the happiness that you deserve. You won’t be able to be the sister, or daughter, or friend that I know you want to be either.”

The blonde slowly opened her eyes, and was met with her sister’s pleading gaze. Just behind Alex, Nia was standing, quiet and patient, holding the stabilizer circlet in her hands. Kara and Nia made eye contact, which prompted the young brunette to offer a hopeful smile.

Just how much these two women cared for Kara was obvious. In their words, in their actions, in their body language. Kara felt a great affection for them. She appreciated just how much they were doing for her.

But she should have felt something more for them. Kara could feel it, like a hole burned through her chest.

“You’re right,” Kara mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Alex asked with a knowing smirk on her face as she held her hand up to her ear.

“Don’t rub it in,” Kara whined.

“Oh, if you think I’m not going to take this chance to definitely rub it in, then you really aren’t yourself,” Alex fired back.

For the first time since waking up, Kara let out a laugh. It was contagious, with Alex and Nia joining in for a moment. The light moment was all too brief, but it was enough. Kara flashed a smile between the two women in front of her, and nodded at Nia. “Okay, I’m ready.”

* * *

It was a soft landing for Nia. She had her eyes closed as she was gently descending until her feet touched down on solid ground. The young hero opened them to see that under her feet was the same white stone tiled floor as before, but to Nia’s dismay, her surroundings were still dark, save for a small area immediately around her. On the upside, she didn’t seem to be stuck in place this time. She took a few steps, finding that the small aura of light around her followed her. A couple more steps revealed the edge of a beige carpet, and the end of a white, plush chair. The back pillow squished under Nia’s hands as she tested it, appreciating how soft it felt.

Nia quickly refocused herself, leaving the excessively comfortable chair alone. “Kara?” she called out.

A familiar whooshing sound echoed through the space, followed by the sound of heavy boots tapping down onto the ground. Nia looked the same way as last time to see Kara, once again standing in a doorway while wearing her super suit and holding a paper bag full of groceries. Trepidation was painted all over Kara’s face as she locked eyes with Nia. The brunette quickly made her way over to Kara, almost stumbling over a low, glass coffee table in the process. When she reached Kara, Nia was able to see the details around her. The doorway did indeed lead outside, to what seemed to be a balcony. Behind Supergirl was a bright day with blue skies.

There was a frown growing on Kara’s face as she maintained eye contact.

“I…I don’t know if I can do this,” Kara croaked.

“Yes you can!” Nia insisted. The frown on Kara’s face grew more intense. Nia grabbed Kara’s arms, hoping the contact could bring an extra piece of mind. “Kara, look. I know, love is hard,” she sighed. “It can come with a lot of pain and hurt.”

There was a brief pause as Nia collected herself.

“But that's a part of life. That’s a part of love! It’s a gamble. You put your heart out there, and unfortunately some people will hurt it. But if we’re lucky, like, really lucky, that special someone, or someones, will find it, and they’ll cherish it, and make it stronger than you could ever have dreamt of on your own. And yeah, sometimes the people who love us the most are also the ones that end up hurting us the worst.”

Dreamer paused again to take a deep breath. Her speech was moving from a hypothetical to something all too relatable. She needed to keep going, though. Kara needed to hear this, and if Nia was being honest, maybe she needed to hear it, too. The brunette exhaled slowly, casually, and brought her attention back to Kara. Nia was pleased to see that she still had the full attention of the Kryptonian.

“I have to believe that it’s worth it,” Nia continued. “That if it’s true love, that if the person is really meant for you, that they’ll be able to overcome their mistakes and find their way back to your heart.”

Nia looked into the dark room for a second, before turning back to Kara. “As hard as it might be, you deserve to know about your love.”

The frown on Kara’s face slowly curved up to a smile. “The perfect day,” Kara breathed.

“The perfect day,” Nia smiled back in confirmation. Kara nodded, then closed her eyes. After a few seconds a light seemed to briefly pass over her.

Something happened behind Nia, who was still facing Kara in the balcony doorway. Nia wasn’t able to hear it so much as she felt it in her bones. She slowly turned around to find that the scene was now fully illuminated, bright as the afternoon day it was apparently taking place during. Nia still didn’t recognize where they were. It appeared to be an apartment. A fancy one at that. The furniture was mostly various hues of white, and very modern; round edges, abstract shaped light fixtures, lots of glass and marble. The balcony led into a spacious living room that was next to a kitchen area, the two spaces separated by a stone island that Nia was pretty sure was more expensive than her entire apartment.

While Nia didn’t recognize her surroundings, she was pretty sure that she recognized the figure that was in the kitchen. Nia stared at the figure, who had their back to her, her head cocked to the side as confusion grew. She spun back to Kara, only to find that Kara wasn’t there anymore.

“Um, Kara?” Nia called out, but got no response. That’s when Nia really noticed that everything around her was completely still. Nothing seemed to be moving, and despite standing in a doorway to a balcony looking out over a bustling city, it was eerily quiet. Nia took a moment to access what was going on, and began laughing at herself once she thought she figured it out.

“I’m in the way,” Nia chuckled. She meant it both figuratively and literally. She was literally standing in the doorway, that judging from the previous two instances, Kara was supposed to enter through. She also realized that she was sort of a third wheel in what seemed like a private moment. The brunette slipped into the apartment and leaned against an electric fireplace that was near the balcony, determined to “melt into the scenery” as much as possible.

As soon as Nia did, the scene lurched to life. Suddenly, all the sounds of National City, the cars, the bustle of humanity, the occasional plane, came pouring in through the open balcony. The calm tones of piano jazz was playing from a smart speaker sitting on the corner of the island. Accompanying it was a faint sound of the figure in the kitchen, idly humming to the melody of the music.

For the third time, Supergirl landed gracefully on the balcony. This time there was no hesitation. As soon as she touched down, grocery bag in hand, she walked into the apartment with a content smile on her face.

“I’m back,” Supergirl announced. Not breaking her casual stride, Kara pulled her glasses out from the small compartment on the back of her belt, and put them on. Within seconds, her suit dematerialized around her, revealing the same beige sweater and jeans that her real world self was wearing. The paper grocery bag was quickly deposited on the island as Kara turned to make her way towards Lena, who was working on the marble kitchen counter built into the wall.

“Perfect timing, I’m almost finished,” Lena said, twisting her torso to smile at the approaching blonde. Once Kara reached Lena, the raven-haired woman turned back to admire her work on the counter, a cast iron skillet full of rings of various, finely-sliced vegetables sitting on a bed of seasoned crushed tomatoes.

Kara pressed herself against Lena’s back, sliding her arms around the Luthor’s waist as her chin rested on Lena’s shoulder. The slightly smaller woman leaned into the contact, a happy hum escaping her as she did.

“It’s very colorful,” Kara drawled in Lena’s ear.

“Yes, traditional ratatouille is quite pleasant to look at,” Lena answered, her fingers lazily rubbing the fabric of Kara’s sleeves. The two took a quiet moment to linger against each other before Lena gently patted at the arms wrapped around her. “Let me finish seasoning it so we can get it in the oven.”

Sluggishly, the arms around Lena’s waist retracted. Before stepping away, Kara turned, brushing her nose past Lena’s ear, and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her jawline. The Luthor let out a soft giggle. Satisfied, Kara returned to the kitchen island and began unpacking the grocery bag: two wrapped baguettes, a couple of apples, oranges, fresh-cut lamb chops, a box of instant popcorn, a shallot, some chicken broth, and a bag of lemons. Once everything was splayed out on the counter, Kara began finding homes for it all.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into eating something that has eggplant  _ and _ squash in it,” Kara chuckled as she watched Lena load the skillet into the oven.

Lena gave the blonde a smirk as she set the oven timer, then sauntered towards Kara, who had just finished putting the groceries away in the pantry at the far end of the kitchen and was now leaning against the counter, grin on her face as the raven-haired woman approached.

“That was our deal,” Lena reminded, her voice low and husky. Her left index finger poked Kara in the neck, then slid up along her chin. “You eat the dish, I watch the movie.” The Luthor leaned into Kara’s body, her hands resting on the front of Kara’s shoulders. “Unless you don’t want to eat my cooking?” she asked, her brow scrunching up as a fake frown grew on her face that was just inches away from Kara’s.

The pleading look being shot at her made Kara bite her lip. “That’s low.”

“Just try it,” Lena chuckled, no longer able to maintain the ruse. The smile on her face was bright, and wide, her dimples prominent as her green eyes remained transfixed on Kara.

Warmth spread all over Kara’s body as she met Lena’s gaze. Dulcet tones of the jazz piano washed over them as Kara slowly lifted her left arm to gently clutch Lena’s right hand. “We have some time before we have to start preparing the lamb chops, right?” the blonde asked. Lena nodded with a hum in response. “Perfect.”

Kara smoothly pushed herself off the edge of the counter, holding Lena in front of her. Still holding Lena’s right hand up, at about shoulder height, Kara slid her own right hand around Lena, resting it on the small of her back. Picking up on Kara’s intentions, Lena draped her left arm over Kara’s shoulder as the Kryptonian slowly began swaying them both.

“What’s this?” Lena asked with a bemused smile on her face.

“I don’t know,” Kara shrugged. “The music swept me up I guess.”

“So you figured you’d sweep  _ me _ up,” Lena retorted, her eyebrow slightly raised. Kara smiled and nodded then lifted Lena up slightly, twirling her around and setting her back down so that they were now in the more spacious living room. “You’re getting quite good at sweeping me off my feet,” Lena mused as they settled back into their lazy slow dance. Kara’s cheeks immediately turned red, a sheepish grin on her face.

They danced in comfortable silence for a few minutes, neither talking, the happy, content grins on their faces saying all they needed to. Their form was messy, their pace was inconsistent. Lena stepped on Kara’s feet at least three times, not that Kara paid any mind to that. Every now and again Kara would twirl them, or dip Lena for no reason other than every time she did it made Lena giggle and grip Kara tighter. It was a sloppy dance, and it was perfect.

“Hmm,” Kara hummed after a bit, causing Lena to raise an eyebrow. “I recognize this part, I think,” the blonde announced. The bridge of her nose crinkled as she seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Oh right, from the whisky tasting thing you took me too last week.”

“This was the live band they hired for the event,” Lena confirmed, an ear to ear grin on her face. “You remembered.”

Kara leaned in, nuzzling her forehead against the side of Lena’s head. “Of course I remember. I had a really good time.”

“Did you?” Lena sighed, a weary smile on her face. “I’m glad. I was worried, I know it’s not usually your sort of thing.”

“I had a lot of fun!” Kara beamed. “Besides,” she began, pausing to lift Lena up for another twirl. “It was spending time with you, and that is one hundred percent ‘my thing’.”

As if on cue, there was a break in the music as the current track began fading out. The two slowed to an eventual halt. For a moment they simply stood there, even as the next song began playing, finding comfort in each other’s arms. Then, Lena pulled her hand from Kara’s grasp, and cupped Kara’s face, idy stroking her cheeks. The warmest, most inviting smile was painted on her face as she stared at the Kryptonian.

It left Kara breathless. Lena leaned forward, arching her head back slightly, until she was close enough that Kara would feel her breath cascading over Kara’s lips. The sensation sent tingles throughout Kara’s body. She smiled back at the Luthor, her eyes heavy-lidded, and closed the remaining distance between them until their lips were pressed together for a kiss.

At first it was timid, lips touching, Kara’s hands on Lena’s hips as Lena cupped Kara’s face. It didn’t take long for it to evolve. Lena’s tongue flicked playfully at Kara’s lips until they let her in, making the blonde whimper. One of Kara’s hands shot up to the base of Lena’s neck, while the other spread out on her back, pulling the raven-haired woman in closer. Soft little moans escaped Lena as she melted into Kara’s embrace.

Even as they were running short on air, neither wanted to separate. The scent of Lena’s perfume was intoxicating. The firmness of Kara’s hands gripping Lena gave the Luthor goosebumps. Everything felt so easy.

So natural.

So perfect.

Finally, their oxygen depleted, the two separated with a huff. Kara leaned back enough to peer into those emerald eyes, staring at her full of joy. It made Kara’s heart sing. She let go of Lena’s back, and moved her other hand from the back of her neck to her cheek, with Lena leaning into the touch.

“I love you,” Kara whispered, a sincere smile on her face.

Lena simply stared up at her, a happy grin on her face.

Kara brushed her thumb along Lena’s cheek. The Kryptonian maintained her smile, but there seemed to be a growing sadness in her eyes.

And still, Lena simply stared up at her, the same grin on her face.

“Kara?” Nia’s voice came, the young hero standing just behind Kara. Nia had only emerged when she realized that the music had died out, as did the sounds of the city. She placed a gentle hand on Kara’s back. The Kryptonian sniffled when Nia touched her, but still, she didn’t move, electing to just stare at the Lena in front of her, happy and unmoving.

“It’s pretty dumb, right?” Kara asked, her voice dripping with melancholy. “Some ‘perfect day’. Just a home cooked meal we make together, An evening cuddled on the couch, watching silly movies while in each other’s arms,” Kara paused to let out a soft chuckle as her face went flush. “Spending the night together in her bed.”

Nia closed the distance to hug Kara’s back. “No! That’s not dumb, it sounds really sweet. That sounds like a wonderful evening.”

There was a silence between them for a moment. It was eventually broken up by another sniffle from Kara. The first couple of tears were streaking down her cheeks. Her hand remained on Lena’s cheek, seemingly terrified to lose that last point of contact.

“It never goes farther than this,” Kara breathed, her voice on the verge of cracking. “No matter what revisions I make I can’t get past this part.” The blonde squeezed her eyelids shut and let out a loud sniffle. For comfort, Nia gently stroked Kara’s back with one hand. “Because… No matter… No matter what I do…” Kara brushed her thumb along Lena’s cheek one more time before letting her hand fall to her side. “... I can’t ever picture her telling me that she loved me back,” Kara huffed with a broken voice, tears running freely down her cheeks.

“Oh, Kara,” Nia whispered, wrapping her arms around the Kryptonian. Kara let out a sob as her hands reached up to Nia’s arms, gripping them tightly. They stood there for a moment, everything still except for Kara’s shaking.

Without fanfare, Lena dissolved into a puff of smoke in front of them, followed not long after by the rest of the room. The last thing Nia saw was Kara’s back, heaving up and down as she cried her heart out.

* * *

Slowly, Kara’s eyes fluttered open, wet and sticky, residue from tears still sitting in the corners. Her entire body felt heavy as she forced herself to sit up. It took a couple seconds for the world to come into focus around her as the last fuzziness of being asleep fell away. Back in the real world, Kara found that it was just like she left it: Kara sitting on one side of her bed, with Nia stirring next to her, Alex sitting on the yellow desk chair that she had pulled up next to the bed, her leg bouncing nervously, her attention focused on Kara. At some point while they were asleep, Alex had taken off her suit and was back in her blue jeans and green t-shirt that she was wearing earlier.

They had woken up just in time to see the last slivers of sunlight just before night set in. It was a beautiful sight, streaming in through the curtains of her room, casting everything in a dark amber haze. It made Kara smile slightly as she wiped the gummy residue from her eyes.

“Well?” Alex’s voice cut into the moment, her patience fraying. At about the same time, Nia began sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

The younger Danvers sister turned to her older, clearly worried sister, and gave her a tired smile. Kara twisted in the bed so she could sit on the edge, her toes digging into the fluffiness of the area rug beneath it. With a deep breath, the smile she had been trying to muster faded, falling into a frown as everything flooded into her mind. The blonde put her hand on Alex’s bouncing knee, and gave it an assuring squeeze.

“I’m whole again,” Kara muttered. She huffed out a breath, then rose to her feet and walked out of the room.

“Wait, what the hell does that mean?!” Alex yelled out. She jumped out of the chair to follow, but was stopped by a hand grabbing onto her wrist. The redhead turned back to Nia, who was sitting cross legged on the bed.

There was a moment of silence between them. Nia was gathering herself, still shaking the effects of the dream journey off. One of the side-effects of these journeys was that Nia would often pick up the feelings of the mind that she was visiting, an incidental side-effect of the experience, much like how one would be covered in pollen after walking through a forest on a breezy spring day. Currently it meant that she was navigating a deep despair that wasn’t her own, but looked enough like her own sadness that it was extra difficult to let go of.

“Your sister has something she wants to tell you,” Nia finally said, her voice low, raspy.

“Then why did she walk away?” Alex grumbled.

“Because, she’s scared,” Nia answered, her hand slid down to take Alex’s. “She’s scared to admit it to herself, let alone any of us. I don’t think she wants to go through this alone, though. Not really, even if she won’t admit it.”

Alex stared into Nia’s eyes. They were full of warmth and concern. The redhead nodded at the young brunette on the bed, then gently pulled away.

Thankfully Kara wasn’t hard to find this time, having only gone so far as her own kitchen. When Alex got there Kara was standing in front of her wooden island, pouring a pale yellow liquid from an unmarked jug into a lowball glass, just a shot’s worth. Before Alex could react, Kara grabbed the glass and threw back the shot. Her face twisted in discomfort, scrunching with closed eyes as she stuck her tongue out.

“Well, I was going to ask how you were, but if you’re already into the Aldebaran rum, I think I have my answer,” Alex chuckled, resting her hip on the side of the island. She watched with amusement as Kara’s faces went through the various stages of processing that burn on the way down her throat, something Alex likened to most humans’ reaction to tequila. “Feel better?”

The Kryptonian was gripping the edge of the island with her left hand, and was slowly twisting the glass around in her right hand, staring intently at it, as if hoping she’d somehow find more rum hidden somewhere in the clear glass. In truth, Kara had been hoping that the shot would have done more for her. As the burn settled and calmed in her belly, her mind was still sharp, too sharp, and too full of the same thoughts and memories that had been there just seconds ago. The only evidence of the rum’s effects was the slight dulling of Kara’s instinct to run away from her sister, or more accurately, run away from the impending conversation.

“Not really,” Kara sighed, setting the glass down on the island, and letting her right hand rest on the counter. The blonde snorted when she felt Alex’s hand cover hers. Her sister’s touch and comfort was always welcome, even if sometimes Kara’s instincts were to resist it, even if sometimes that comfort hurt, much like an ointment on a wound, it was a pain that Kara knew was part of the process of healing.

“I’m here, Kara,” Alex assured her. With her free hand, the redhead reached over and gave her sister’s shoulder a pat. “We can talk. We can drink. Whatever you need right now.”

Kara didn’t immediately answer. She let a silence hang between them, enjoying the comfort of Alex’s hand on hers as her mind searched for what to say, where to begin. That ended up being the key word that led Kara to her decision: begin at the beginning.

“Do you remember when I decided to become a reporter?” Kara asked, her voice low, still searching for its footing. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the island in front of her, not daring to look her sister in the face.

The question made Alex search back in her mind for a second. “Yeah, it was when you worked with Clark on that story about the attacks on L-Corp. You said he inspired you. That you realized you could help people as Kara too, not just Supergirl.”

“That’s… only partially true,” Kara weakly chuckled. She took a deep breath before continuing. “The truth is, working with Clark was great, but I was still unsure of myself. I wasn’t confident that I could be a journalist, that I could be any good at it. Honestly I don’t even know if ‘journalist’ was the way I was leaning.”

The Kryptonian paused. This was the edge. She knew it. One more step, and there was no turning back. No taking it back. No more hiding it, locked in an ornate box deep in her heart.

“I didn’t really believe in myself, I don’t think,” the blonde continued. “But she did,” Kara whispered, and let it hang between them for a moment. Alex raised an eyebrow, quite confused.

“It was never a question to her, just a fact that the rest of the world hadn’t caught up to yet.

“Lena saw me, the real me, before I even saw myself,” Kara confessed. “She’s always been able to see me. To see ‘Kara’.” The blonde flared her nostrils as her eyes squeezed shut.

“So many people depend on me. The world depends on me. I feel that weight on my shoulders all the time. Except when I’m with her,” Kara croaked. “When I’m with her I felt… free. Free to just be myself.”

There was another pause. Kara’s composure was starting to crack, as was her voice. Alex abandoned Kara’s hand, electing to close the distance between them and wrap her sister in a side hug. “It’s okay. It’s okay, I’m right here,” Alex cooed into her sister’s ear.

“It’s her, Alex,” Kara sniffled. “It’s always been her.

“And I hurt her, and lied to her in so many ways,” Kara said, her words wet as she hung on the verge of outright sobbing. “And now everything I try to do to fix things just makes it worse!”

“All because… because I’m too scared to tell her that I love her. Because I’m so scared of losing her as a friend… But I have anyway,” Kara cried, breaking down in her sister’s arms.

“I’ve ruined everything,” the blonde whimpered, face planted in the crook of Alex’s neck.

“Shhh,” Alex breathed, carding her fingers through Kara’s hair.

As Alex comforted her sister, Nia appeared in the room, and leaned next to the segment of wall that denoted the separation of kitchen and living room in the apartment’s open floor plan. The redhead caught her out of the corner of her eyes, and twisted slightly, Kara still wrapped around her, to make eye contact. Nia shot Alex a slight smile, then pointed at herself, then pointed at the door. Alex gave her a thumbs up and a slight nod, then went back to comforting her sister as Nia quietly left.

The door made a soft click behind Nia, but it was enough to be picked up by a Kryptonian’s hearing, even if she was mostly lost in her own sorrow. Still in Alex’s grasp, Kara’s head popped up, and craned over her shoulder to look back at the door.

“Nia’s had a long day,” Alex observed, “and she wanted to give us some sister time.”

Kara turned back to Alex, red eyes, stained cheeks, lips that were still quivering. “I’m so sorry I kept this from you. I didn’t mean to. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I fully understood how I felt until I came out to her as Supergirl, until I was able to actually be my full self around her.”

“Yeah, I certainly know how ‘coming out’ can change things,” Alex smirked.

“Not the same thing!” Kara protested, taking a step back to playfully slap her sister on the shoulder. Despite her faux outrage, it had gotten the first real laugh out of Kara since waking up.

“Is it that different, though?” Alex questioned. “After all, it led you to this point, and isn’t this that’s happening now the same thing?”

“Completely different,” Kara suggested, taking Alex’s hands into her own. “Alex, what you did was so brave. You found yourself, and you faced it head on, because deep down you knew your truth was in you, and you weren’t going to let it be buried any longer. The only reason I’m here is because Nia had to fix my messed up brain and caught me.”

Alex peered at Kara for a moment, blank faced before the edge of her mouth crooked up just slightly. “Kara I came out because for three nights in a row I had the same dream about Maggie bending me over a—”

“—Please don’t finish that sentence!” Kara screamed, throwing her hands up and visibly wincing.

Bullets bounced off Kara without her even feeling them. Trucks and tanks broke upon her as the ocean broke upon mountains. Alex’s sister was just about invulnerable to anything the Earth could throw at her, which is why it gave Alex ceaseless delight in being one of the few things that could do real damage to the Girl of Steel, even if not physical damage.

“My point,” Alex began once she was able to stop laughing as her sister’s reaction, “is that while I love and adore how much you’ve supported me, Kara, I think maybe you’re romanticizing how I came out just a bit.”

Alex’s hands found their way to Kara’s shoulders again. “There’s no ‘right way’ to come out. I did it because my crush on Maggie became deafening. For you, it’s because some purple asshole messed up your head.

“So maybe cool it with all the self disparaging stuff, whatever path it took to get you here is completely valid,” Alex said, pulling Kara into a hug, “All that matters is that you can be honest with yourself now, and with everyone else, and that we love you, just as you are.”

Kara let herself sink into the hug. For the first time since waking up, the world was starting to feel right again.

“Despero was more magenta than purple,” Kara sighed into Alex’s shoulder.

“Are you serious?!” Alex growled, pulling out of the hug. Kara looked entirely pleased with herself.

Both of them pretty quickly settled back into a sense of calm. Kara leaned back against the island.

“So, what do I do now?” the blonde asked, her voice low, almost as if she was asking for sacred knowledge that if said too loud would unbalance the entire world.

“That’s easy,” Alex responded, opening the refrigerator and pulling a beer out. She popped the cap off and took a swig, all the while Kara watching her with baited breath. The redhead let out a satisfied sigh as she wiped her mouth clean. “Now, you talk to Lena.”

A simple answer. One that made Kara’s eyes go wide and her mouth drop open. It opened and closed a few more times before any words came out.

“What? No. What? Noooooo,” The Kryptonian stammered as she started fidgeting.

“Yeeesssss,” Alex shot back, taking another swig of beer. “Kara, you have to be honest with her.”

“I’m trying to fix our  _ friendship _ , Alex! How would that help?!” Kara huffed.

“You don’t want just a friendship with her!” Alex retorted.

“Well that’s the only option I have now isn’t it!” Kara roared, louder than she meant to. Louder than Alex had been expecting. Kara fell back against the island, her eyes falling shut. “Sorry.”

Alex leaned against the island just next to Kara, idly twisting her beer bottle in her hands. “Nothing’s going to work between the two of you, not a friendship, not anything else, if you’re not honest with her. That’s how this all got started, isn’t it? Trying to keep things from Lena?”

Kara let out a long, drawn out, deflating sigh. “Stop being right,” she groaned.

“It’s your only option, if whatever you end up building with Lena is going to last,” Alex asserted, holding up her beer as if it made the decree official. “You know, in hindsight, I can’t believe I didn’t see any of this coming. And, who knows, she just might like you the same way. Wouldn’t be surprising honestly.”

“Hah,” Kara said out loud, “that’s hilarious,” she scoffed.

“Not trying to be,” Alex responded, edge of her beer bottle resting on her lip.

“Lena doesn’t… She doesn’t like me, not like that,” Kara argued.

“But how do you know?!” Alex blurted out. “Maybe she’s been hiding her feelings the same way you have been. This is Lena we’re talking about, she’s plenty measured and reserved when she wants to be.”

“What? No she’s not,” Kara snapped, confused why Alex would even think that.

“Not with you! That’s the point. Kara, you get to see a different Lena than the rest of us. Hell it took me years to even begin pushing my way past that armor of hers.” Alex slapped Kara on the shoulder. “But you’ve always been on the other side of it. She’s always let you in, even though that was never part of her plans.”

Alex set her bottle down and rounded on her sister, grabbing, and gently stroking, her biceps. “You have that way about you, Kara. Without even trying, you have this way of completely turning people’s worlds upside down.” The statement made Kara lower her head. Her sister quickly placed a finger under her chin to lift it back up. The smile Kara was met with was full of warmth. “Hey, that’s okay, though. Take it from someone whose world you once turned upside down, it can be a little frustrating at first, but pretty soon you realize that it was the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

With a small whimper, Kara collapsed into her sister’s arms for another hug.

“I have to talk to her?” Kara groaned, already knowing the answer.

“That’s the only way forward, Supergirl,” Alex said, still firmly in the hug.

After a tender moment between the sisters, Alex pulled back suddenly when her phone began vibrating. She slid the device out of her back pocket, then chuckled as she read the notification of an incoming call.

“Huh, speak of the devil.”

* * *

About a thousand thoughts went through Kara’s mind when Lena called Alex, each more preposterous than the last. The real reason had turned out to be much more mundane, giving Kara a sense of relief and a feeling of disappointment all at once.

Lena had called to inquire about Kara’s health, and, once receiving the good news, requested Kara come to her lab. As it turned out, Lena and Brainy had spent the afternoon hard at work on a way to block Despero’s telepathic attacks and abilities, using the brain scans they took of Kara while she was under Despero’s influence as a basis. They were close, they just needed brain scans of a healthy Kara to compare.

Alex had insisted that Kara go on her own, and winked far too many times during the conversation for Kara’s liking. The Kryptonian had been out to all of two people for a whole two hours, surely a baby pansexual such as herself couldn’t be expected to confess her feelings to the woman she was madly in love with on the same night. Besides, Brainy was going to be there, and she didn’t need to drag him into all of her drama. After all, he had plenty of his own. And on top of all that, Lena hated her again. Or, at least, Kara thought she did. It had been a curiosity to learn about how fast Lena rushed to the Tower when she had been told that Kara was in real trouble, but the Kryptonian handwaved that as just Lena being a good person that’d help anyone, even someone she didn’t particularly care for.

Yet, despite all of her very valid points, Kara had made the trip to L-Corp on her own. Brainiac 5 had greeted and ushered her through the building to Lena’s lab, all the while filling Kara in on the progress they had made. When the two had entered the lab, Lena glanced at them and gave a quick nod, before turning back to focus the giant screen on the wall. From there Brainy had Kara sit down on a gurney and hooked her up with an array of monitoring devices that attached to various points on her head. During all of it, Lena remained focused on the screen in front of her, or on the tablet she was holding that controlled the screen, not once speaking or even looking Kara’s way. At least Brainy had been in a talkative mood, engaging in the unique kind of small talk that was quintessentially Brainy. Some part of Kara wondered if he was trying to fill what he knew would otherwise be an extremely awkward silence between the women.

Once the scans had started, Brainy became more and more focused on the standing monitor near the gurney, until he too retreated to viewing the large screen with Lena, which seemed to be displaying all kinds of statistics pertaining to Kara’s brain. As a mindless fidget, Kara stuck her hands in her jeans pockets, expecting to find some lint to pick at. She was surprised to find something else entirely in her left pocket, something small, round, and cold. It took Kara a few seconds to remember that she still had the metal golden ball in her pocket. Now that her full feelings were restored, all the pain attached to the small trinket flooded the Girl of Steel, forcing her eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” Brainy asked, suddenly standing next to the seated Kara.

“What?” Kara yelped, surprised at her friend’s sudden proximity. Brainiac 5 raised an eyebrow and looked back at the screen, which was displaying a graph with a large spike in it. “Oh, right,” Kara sighed. “Just a random wave of emotion. I think it was just an after effect from having my whole mind reconstructed today,” Kara said with a forced smile.

Brainiac 5 smirked at her, but did not protest. “I see,” was all he said about it.

“Well, either way, I come bearing good tidings, the scans are completed,” Brainy informed her as he began removing the monitoring devices.

“Oh. That was fast,” Kara mumbled. Sitting there, with Lena one hundred percent ignoring her on the other side of the room while she was on the gurney, stewing in her feelings, had been excruciating, but at least Kara could see her, and lazily listen in to her heartbeat, slow and steady. As painful as being ignored was, being in Lena’s presence felt better than not being there.

At some point while Brainy was removing the last device, it settled into Kara that Alex was probably right, and Kara hoped that wherever her sister was that she could feel Kara’s glare burrowing into the back of her head.

Once Brainy was finished disconnecting everything, he gathered it all and returned it to a filing cabinet near the gurney. Kara spun to let her legs dangle off the side of the gurney and just watched Brainy work, and occasionally stole a glance at Lena, who was hard at work. Brainy returned after a moment and hopped up on the gurney next to Kara. She offered him a small smile.

They sat there for a moment, not saying anything. Kara kept looking around the room, trying to make it not obvious that her vision kept sliding back to Lena. Meanwhile, Brainy just sat next to her, looking down as he picked at a nail on one of his thumbs.

“You said there were... after effects, from the dream journey today,” Brainy stated, lifting his head up, but staring straight ahead. Kara, worried she was quickly becoming backed into a corner with this falsehood, just nodded. “It must have been exhausting… How is Nia?”

A sigh of relief escaped Kara, realizing that what Brainy was hoping to get out of this conversation wasn’t to catch her in a lie.

“She’s okay,” Kara assured him. “She had to shake off some of the lingering sadness from delving into my brain, but she’s going to be just fine.”

“That is… good,” Brainy said, a slight smile forming on his face for a second before clearing his throat. “I am sorry, though, that your mind appears to be a traumatic landscape for people to journey to.”

“Oh wow, thanks!” Kara huffed indignantly.

“I-that did not come out correctly,” Brainy began to stammer, but Kara was already giggling, unable to maintain her ruse. Brainiac 5, realizing what was happening, began chuckling along with his friend.

“You should ask Nia how she’s doing, not me,” Kara suggested.

It took some time for Brainiac 5 to respond.

“I… do not know if that is what she’d want,” he conceded after a moment.

“Brainy, she just wants you to try,” the blonde assured him. The Coluan raised his eyebrow, skeptical at the advice. “I know you’ve been trying to figure out how to make up for everything that happened, but Brainy, there isn’t some special gift or act that will magically fix it. You just have to start trying. If you do that, the two of you will figure it out in no time,” Kara contended.

“Perhaps, when Despero is no longer a concern, I will check in on her, myself,” Brainy mused. The Kryptonian pulled him into a side hug. “Thank you, Kara.”

After they separated from the hug, Brainiac 5 stood back up. He glanced across the room at Lena, then turned back to Kara. “That was all we required from you. It will take some time for the computer to do a thorough comparison of your two scans, so we won’t know anything certain for approximately the next thirty eight minutes and forty three seconds, give or take two seconds. It has been a long day, I think I shall take this time to acquire food. I believe Marco’s Deli is still open.”

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Kara whimpered. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You, of course, are free to leave whenever you desire,” Brainy mused, gesturing at Kara with a hand. He smiled at his friend, still sitting on the gurney. “You are also more than welcome to stay,” he said. The Coluan nodded, then turned on his heel and left.

And then it was just the two of them. Kara and Lena, separated by what felt like miles of space in the lab, united in their efforts to let silence wash over the entire space.

Kara sighed. She reached back into her pocket, and gave the golden ball a squeeze. Then she stood up.

The space of the lab between them felt like forever, but in truth it was a distance Kara could close in less than a minute, even at normal human speed. As she approached, Kara kept her focus on Lena’s heartbeat, waiting to see if there was a reaction, but it remained steady as Lena typed away on a keyboard at a workstation just across from the giant screen.

About ten feet away was the distance Kara decided upon. Close enough to talk normally, but enough distances to not feel like she was encroaching. What Kara didn’t account for was just how intense the scent of Lena’s perfume was at this distance. It was what she always wore, something sandalwood based, with hints of lavender. She took a second to close her eyes and lose herself in it, before focusing on the very simple task at hand of getting her once best friend to simply have a conversation with her.

“Lena?” Kara wearily called out, her voice tentative.

“We will let you know when the device is ready, Supergirl,” Lena flatly stated, maintaining concentration on the computer monitor in front of her.

The utter lack of emotion, as well as Lena choosing to call her “Supergirl” even while in civilian clothes, made Kara wince.

“Lena, please,” the blonde pleaded.

At first, Kara was encouraged when Lena got up from the computer station she was working at, but those hopes were quickly dashed when the raven-haired woman simply turned to the giant monitor and began focusing on that again.

“I really am busy,” the Luthor finally said, tapping something on her tablet.

“I know,” Kara conceded. She took a step forward anyway. “But please, I really need to talk to you.”

Finally, the icy exterior that Lena had held the entire night cracked. She dropped her arms to her side, letting the tablet dangle from her hand while she bit her lip. Lena ran her free hand over her head, smoothing her tight ponytail, then let out a sigh.

“Everything always has to be on your terms, doesn’t it,” Lena scoffed.

“What?”

The L-Corp CEO turned to face the Kryptonian. There was a mix of anger and exhaustion on Lena's face. Her jaw twitched ever so slightly as her eyes set upon Kara, making the blonde gulp. In her mind, and her heart, Kara was doing everything she could to brace herself, although judging from just how fast her heart was racing, those efforts weren’t going well. Any illusions she had about this being an easy conversation died as soon as their eyes met.

“I’m hard at work, trying to develop a device, for you by the way, but none of that matters because Kara just  _ needs  _ to get something off her chest,” the Luthor hissed, flinging her tablet to the ground to drive home the point.

The sudden burst of violence drove Kara a step back. “Please, Lena, I just want to talk,” she reiterated, doing everything she could to hold herself together. “I… I don’t want to fight. I… I’m…” Kara made a few attempts to start a sentence, but each one crumbled in her mouth as her thoughts swirled around, unable to be corralled into anything coherent. The Kryptonian began scratching the back of her neck as she tried to sort herself out. She sure was proving Alex wrong. The older sister had expected Kara to confess her feelings, but Kara was having trouble with even basic ideas. If nothing else, being able to throw this in Alex’s face brought the Kryptonian some small comfort.

A brusque hum escaped Lena as she watched Kara fumble around. “There’s nothing to fight about,” Lena agreed. Her gaze wandered from Kara to some indiscriminate spot in the lab, while her arms wrapped themselves around her midsection. “There’s nothing left to discuss. Your actions have made it quite clear.” The Luthor turned to stare at the giant screen on the wall, and sighed. “This is a professional partnership, nothing more.”

“What? No! No, that’s not true!” Kara protested. She summoned all the courage she had, and took two steps forward towards the raven-haired woman in front of her.

Lena snapped her gaze back at Kara. “Stop lying to me, Kara! Ever since we ended up on this ‘new Earth’, your actions towards me have been all over the place! Whatever it takes to get me to do what you need me to.”

“It’s not like that at all!” Kara insisted. For as much as Kara was trying to avoid a fight, Lena seemed to be gunning for one. The blonde understood why, a part of her even wondered if she could just take letting herself be an emotional punching bag for her, maybe that’d make Lena happy.

“Oh no?” Lena scoffed. She squeezed herself tighter as her brows furrowed. “I’m just crazy then.”

Kara’s immediate reaction was to argue against that point, but something stopped her. It was Lena’s eyes. Green, and gorgeous, and bloodshot, and wet around the rims. No more anger. No more rage peering out from them. Just sadness. A sadness Kara knew she was responsible for. It tore her heart apart, but in that she found her answer. What she needed to do. What she should have done as soon as she walked into the lab.

“You’re not crazy, Lena,” Kara affirmed. It was enough to give Kara a second to compose herself while Lena stood in silence, her focus entirely on the Kryptonian. “You’re right. Things between us have been awkward, and I’m trying to apologize for that.”

“But why?” Lena breathed. Her voice was heavy, on the verge of trembling. “If it’s because you haven’t really forgiven me for working with Lex… If it’s because you can’t…”

“It’s nothing like that!” Kara insisted, taking a few steps closer, now only a few feet from the Luthor. “I have forgiven you. I  _ do  _ trust you! I’ve always trusted you!”

“Then why?!” Lena shouted. She still had one arm wrapped around her midsection, but the other one was free, moving animatedly with her words. “Help me understand, because one minute you’re walking away, leaving me alone on the street, but then the next you’re blowing up my phone for days on end. It’s like you’re pulling me in and pushing me away at the same time. It’s maddening, Kara!”

“I… That is…” Kara stammered again. There wasn’t a good answer for it, for all the nervousness the Kryptonian had been feeling around Lena, just the truth, and that certainly didn’t seem like a good idea at the moment.

Lena’s posture straightened up. “I see. Very enlightening,” the Luthor ridiculed. She slapped both hands against her thighs. “Well, I really do have to get back to work, Supergirl.”

Another “Supergirl”.

“No, wait, please,” Kara begged, her mind fishing for anything to say, grasping at literally anything that might help.

A bitter smirk grew on Lena’s face. “You can’t even be honest with me,” she scoffed. The Luthor turned around and began walking away. She had to, Lena wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it together in the Kryptonian’s presence.

It felt like Lena was slipping through Kara’s fingers. Her mind was spinning. Her heart was racing. The last thing Kara was ready to do was let Lena go.

But Kara had no idea what to do to get Lena to stay.

She needed to say something.

Anything.

“I love you.”

That was  _ not  _ what Kara meant to say. The words were already out of her mouth before she even realized what she was doing. A few yards away, Lena had come to a dead stop, her back still to Kara. Not being able to see Lena’s reaction wasn’t helping the blonde’s anxiety. She tried listening for Lena’s heartbeat, although it was hard to hear over the pounding of her own, but she was able to make out that Lena’s was also pounding in her chest.

In the pantheon of poorly timed love confessions it was pretty high up there. Kara knew that. But it was out there now, no take backs, and Kara couldn’t think of anything else to do now but plow ahead.

“You wanted the truth. Well, it’s this. It’s because I love you, and I didn’t know how to deal with it,” Kara offered, her voice as light and optimistic as she could get it. The only motion Lena made was to flex her fingers once or twice. Kara could still hear the Luthor’s heart racing.

Kara allowed herself to hope. Just for a split second. She knew she shouldn’t, but something about being in such close proximity to Lena, being able to stare into those eyes, to smell her perfume, to hear her intoxicatingly husky voice. Kara could picture it, the Luthor turning around, her green eyes bright and full of love, a wide smile with those dimples on each end of it.

Just for a split second.

In the next second, grim reality took over. Lena’s tense posture. The nervous flexing of her fingers. Her refusal to look at Kara. Her inability to stop her heart from almost pounding out of her chest. All of it a reminder to Kara of a truth she already knew. A truth that had been wrapped around her heart like thorny vines. A truth that stung Kara every time she thought about it, but a truth nevertheless.

_ She doesn’t love you back. _

“And I… I… I just didn’t want to mess up our friendship,” Kara mumbled, pivoting into full “damage control” mode. “I’m sorry.” She was nervously scratching at her left wrist, her eyes looking around the room anywhere except where Lena was. “I’m still trying to figure out how to act… Around you, that is.”

“Your friendship is so important to me,” Kara added.

‘Because that’s all I’m expecting… a friendship,” Kara tacked on, just trying anything to get Lena to respond to her.

Right as Kara was about to throw out her next round of rambling, the buzz of her phone cut her off. She was tempted to let it ring, but the caller wasn’t picking up the hint. A quick inspection revealed that it was a call from Alex. Kara sighed heavily, and flicked the Ignore button. There was no way she could deal with that call at this very moment.

Sliding her phone back into her pocket, Kara looked back up, and was surprised to see Lena staring back at her. The raven-haired woman had her hands clasped together over her chest. Kara was having trouble reading the expression on her face, which almost felt like what Lena was trying for.

“Who was it?” the Luthor asked, her voice soft. She licked her lips as her eyes darted to Kara’s pocket just for a second.

“Oh, just Alex,” Kara answered, with the friendliest voice she could. The blonde suddenly felt very tense under Lena’s gaze, as if one wrong move would chase her away forever. Lena offered a small smile and a nod at the mention of Alex. The smile wasn’t even for Kara, not really, but seeing it set her entire body on fire. “If it’s something important I’m sure she’ll call ba-oh,” Kara squeaked as her phone suddenly began ringing again. Kara put up one finger and shot an apologetic grin at Lena as she answered.

“Yes, Alex, what is it?”

“Oh.”

“Okay, yeah.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You literally can’t stop me.”

“Yes.”

“ _ YES _ .”

“Be right there.”

For a moment after hanging up, Kara simply stared at her phone, sighing. Then, she let out a laugh.

“J’onn’s found Despero. He’s currently tearing up midtown,” Kara muttered. “I have to go.”

The news seemed to jolt something in Lena. “The device isn’t ready!” she gasped. The raven-haired woman turned to her workstation, then back to Kara, with a look of panic over her face.

Despite the bleak news, Kara couldn’t help but smile at Lena. “You’ll get it done. I know you will.

“I believe in you,” Kara declared as she ripped her glasses off.

The super suit materialized on Kara in seconds, and then, in an instant later, Supergirl was out of the room.

Lena was left standing in the lab, all by herself, one arm outstretched, her hand grasping at the air where Kara had just been. Once it registered that there was nothing where she was reaching, Lena retracted her hand, and squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could.

“Focus, Luthor,” Lena huffed, chiding herself. “Kara needs you to focus.” Lena let out a deep breath, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly found the contact she wished to call.

“Brainy, you need to get back to the lab, now! Despero’s back and Kara’s going after him.”

* * *

The Martian Manhunter crashed into the side of the building, leaving a small indentation. He sluggishly pushed himself off the wall, chips of concrete falling to the ground, some eight stories below. Hovering in front of him, about halfway across the street, was Despero, an ear-to-ear grin on his face.

“I take it back, Martian, you make a formidable foe indeed,” Despero effused. “You honor those that bore your name, but now, you shall join them in th—”

Despero was cut off by two blasts of energy slamming into his side. He roared and pushed back in the air.

“Oh my god shut up already!” Nia shouted up from the ground, already preparing herself for a second attack. Standing next to her was Alex, her Hand of the Soldier in the form of a laser pistol.

The two opened fire again, hitting Despero again, until he began maneuvering out of the way. His third eye lit up and began hurling energy blasts at the ground, forcing Dreamer and Alex to scatter and take cover behind cars on the side of the road. Preoccupied with the two below, Despero barely had time to register J’onn until he slammed into the magenta menace, sending them tumbling end over end through the air. J’onn got a couple good punches in until the massive alien slammed one of his fists into J’onn’s gut. The Manhunter clung onto Despero’s head, desperate not to lose his grip. A quick burst of mental energy made Despero howl in pain. In retaliation, he threw an uppercut at J’onn, connecting on his chin. The punch sent the Martian tumbling through the air until he crashed through a window in the closest building.

Out of nowhere, Supergirl crashed into Despero, fists first. The momentum smashed Despero into the ground, with Supergirl still pushing him forward, tearing the pavement of the street up under the foe, leaving a long groove in the road the length of the entire block.

As a countermeasure, Despero’s third eye began pulsating until it shot out a concussive blast, sending Supergirl hurtling backwards as well as shattering all the windows on the block.

Supergirl slammed into the top edge of a car and flipped over it, able to land in a kneeling position. She glared at the huge man at the other end of the block, seething.

“Glad to see you, Supergirl,” Dreamer called out, breaking Kara’s focus. She looked over her shoulder to see the two Super Friends gathering at her position.

“Don’t suppose there’s an ETA on whatever device Lena and Brainy are working on,” Alex grumbled.

The Girl of Steel rose to her feet, and shook her head. “They’ll get it done. We just have to do what we can until it’s ready.” Kara turned back to Despero, who was still struggling to dig himself out of the rocky hole that Supergirl put him in. “Which is just fine by me,” she growled, her eyes lighting up. Supergirl charged forward, shooting her heat vision beams directly at Despero.

A ways behind her, Dreamer and Alex watched, pensive faces on both.

“I get the feeling the talk with Lena didn’t go well,” Alex mused. Nia shook her head in agreement.

The heat vision hit Despero in the chest, causing him to scream. With some effort, he was able to grit through the pain and counter with his own energy blast, forcing Kara to break her concentration and dive out of the way.

With a brief moment to recover, Despero’s third eye blinked a few times before it began to glow purple.

Growling, Supergirl bounced up to her feet and began to fly right at the monstrous villain.

“Watch out!” the Manhunter screamed, tackling Supergirl out of the air. As the two tumbled onto the sidewalk, they were able to see a purple streak shoot where Kara had been, instead hitting a building. The Martian quickly drug both himself and Kara into the alleyway near where they landed.

“J’onn! What the hell?!” Kara huffed, pushing herself out of his grip. Her anger subsided when she got a good look at the Manhunter. He was resting one arm against the side of the alley, his suit scratched and chipped in a number of places; there were a couple deep gashes on his cheeks to go along with a fat lip.

“Oh Rao, J’onn! I’m sorry, are you okay?!” Kara shrieked, immediately clutching him by the arms. Around the same time Nia and Alex slipped into the alleyway, unnoticed by the magenta being menacing the city.

“I’m fine, Supergirl,” J’onn said, pausing in the middle of it to catch his breath. With a grunt, he pushed himself off the wall. “That purple blast is another mental attack,” he announced to the trio around him. “Until we have a way to nullify those attacks, fighting him poses a great risk.”

“You can’t expect me to just sit on the sideline because it’s dangerous,” Supergirl snapped. “When is it  _ not  _ dangerous?!”

The Manhunter shook his head. “The risk is even greater for you now, Supergirl. He got to you once, which means the next time will be even worse.

“If. IF, you’re going to fight him, you can’t keep recklessly charging in, he’ll just use it to his advantage,” J’onn chided.

“I’m not reckless!” Supergirl argued, indignant, which got very knowing looks from Nia and Alex. “Traitors!” she fumed.

The discussion was broken up by the sound of an explosion of some kind. The Martian Manhunter wasted no time taking to the sky to pursue.

“Well, he’s going to need back up,” Dreamer started as she began backing out of the alley, “and since I’m the most qualified to defend against mental attacks, I guess I’m up,” she chirped before turning around and jogging out of the alleyway.

Before Supergirl could take to the air, Alex grabbed her by the arms.

“Alex, not you too,” Supergirl whined.

“I’m not saying you can’t fight, Kara. I’m saying you need to take a breath first,” Alex demanded.

“Really, I’m fine,” Kara protested, but Alex just shook her head.

“Fine. You call this fine. You’ve been here for five minutes and all you’ve done is hurl yourself at him with no regard!”

Supergirl stood still in her sister’s grasp for a moment, taking in heavy breaths and letting out long sighs. Instead of peace, her nose ridge started to crinkle as if she had just eaten something sour. With one hard sigh, Kara pulled herself from Alex’s grasp and threw her hands up.

“She knows how I feel, okay?” Kara boomed, her eyelids falling shut. “She knows. And now I know that she doesn’t feel that way. And I’ve probably ruined any chance of ever rebuilding our friendship. Okay?”

Without a word, Alex wrapped her arms around Kara, who fought it at first, but eventually gave in.

“We don’t have time for this,” Supergirl whispered into her sister’s shoulder.

“Yeah, well, if you’re not in the right mindset, you’re not going to be any good to us anyway, so we’re making time,” Alex said, arms still tightly around her sister.

“I may be able to help,” a voice came from behind Kara, farther down the alleyway.

It startled both Danvers sisters, Alex popping her head up to aim her gun immediately, and Kara spinning around as Alex let her go, her eyes already lighting up. They quickly dropped their defenses when they got a look at Brainiac 5 without his image inducer, fully decked out in his purple uniform, pristine green skin, and smooth blonde hair. There was a comfortable smile on his face while both of his hands were clasped behind his back.

“Brainy you nearly scared us to death!” Alex growled.

At the sight of Brainy, Kara lit up. “Wait, if you’re here, then that means…”

The smile on Brainy’s face grew as he held both hands out. In one hand was what looked a large, thick, black metal collar, and in the other hand was what appeared to be a set of large headphones.

“This,” Brainy began, holding up the collar, “is for Despero, it should completely stop him from being able to use his mental abilities.” Then he held up the headphones. “And this is for you, Kara.”

“Um, thanks?” Kara shrugged as she took them and put them on like a normal set of headphones. Suddenly, a translucent pink glass began materializing from the headband and made a sleek helmet that completely covered her head. “Whoa!”

The Coluan took a step forward and tapped on the glass with a knuckle. “And this will protect you from any of Despero’s mental attacks until you can get the collar on him,” he informed her, handing Supergirl the collar. It made Kara’s face absolutely glow.

Before he knew it, Brainiac 5 found himself in a tight hug. “Thank you,” Kara whispered. She pulled back and bit her lip. “And do me a favor? Tell Lena I said thank you?”

“Well, actually, she aske—” Brainy started to say, but Supergirl was already in the air and out of sight. Brainy stood there, sighing at the empty space Kara had just been, when Alex threw an arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t feel bad, she does that to everyone,” Alex chuckled.

“They both do,” Brainy added, humming a laugh. “That’s honestly how most of the communication breakdowns between them happen.” He turned to face Alex. “But enough of that, we have more important concerns right now.”

“We? Brainy, you still haven’t fully recovered from your injuries,” Alex warned.

“I have recovered enough,” the Coluan contended. He steepled his hands in front of his midsection and took a deep breath. “I am not about to stand by and let my friends fight this alone.”

* * *

Despero and the Martian Manhunter launched mental attacks at each other at the same time. It sent Despero crashing into the ground, while J’onn went hurtling through the night sky. He was about to slam into another building when Supergirl scooped him out of the air and carried him safely to the roof of a nearby building.

“Careful, J’onn, I got you,” Kara soothed as she gingerly set him on the gravel covered roof. The Manhunter tried to sit up, but the Girl of Steel wouldn’t let him. “Whoa, easy there.”

“Despero hasn’t been defeated, yet,” J’onn growled, wincing with almost every word.

Kara smiled down at him, and took one of his hands into hers. “J’onn, you’ve fought and chased him all day. You’ve done your part. You need to rest. Don’t worry, we’ll handle it from here.” The Martian began to protest, but Kara stopped him, and tapped her helmet. “Don’t worry, Lena’s got me.”

Meanwhile, Despero was staggering up to his feet from the small crater he had made in the middle of the street. Before he could even get his bearings, a blue energy lasso tightened around his neck. His hands shot up to it, trying to free himself.

“Surrender, or else!” Dreamer shouted, pulling the energy lasso tighter.

The ultimatum made Despero laugh. “Or else? How weak.”

Dreamer grumbled. “Fine!” she huffed. “Surrender, or die!”

“That’s a little better,” Despero grinned. His third eye began glowing blue, allowing him to grasp the energy lasso. He gave it a hard yank, sending Dreamer flying over his head, and landing hard on the pavement a few feet away.

Nia slowly rolled over onto her back, groaning the entire time. “That’s just cheating,” she muttered.

The gravely sound of Despero laughing echoed on the road. He was looming over Nia, a sinister grin on his face. “I offer you no ultimatum. Your only option is ‘die’,” he bellowed.

“That is incorrect,” a voice behind Despero calmly said.

The goliath twisted around. “A Brainiac?” He grumbled, clearly confused. Despero turned around to give his full attention. “I don’t know why you’re here, Brainiac,” the magenta alien growled, leaning down so his head was hovering over the much smaller Brainy. “But I have no interest in this forsaken planet. You can have it,  _ after  _ I kill all of its heroes.”

Brainy, his hands still steepled together in front of him, laughed at Despero. “You have made a number of errors, my friend. That is okay, though, there was an eight two point three percent chance you would, there is no shame in that.

“First,” Brainy paused and began pacing, holding up one hand with one finger. “I have no interest in conquering this, what did you say? Forsaken planet. Because second, you have mistaken me for my brethren, which I certainly am nothing like. Which leads me to the third,” Brainy held up a third finger and stopped pacing. “The answer to your initial question.”

There was a brief pause as Brainy took a deep breath. “I am Brainiac 5, and I am here to protect my friends.”

Just as soon as he finished, Brainiac 5 swung into action with such quick efficiency that Despero never had a chance to react. Brainy hopped just a little to the left, then wrenched back his arm and punched Despero’s left kneecap at just the perfect angle. A sickening crack echoed off the buildings around them as the massive man cried out in pain, forcing him to drop to that knee.

Alex leapt in out of nowhere, her Hand of the Soldier now in a shape of a spear. With one confident lunge, she drove the spear through Despero’s right calf.

“Dreamer, his arms!” Brainiac 5 barked out.

Nia wasted no time. She pushed herself back to her feet, then shot out two energy lassos, one wrapping around each of Despero’s hands. She gave it a strong tug but the goliath was beginning to pull back. Brainiac 5 appeared just behind Dreamer, and wrapped his arms around her, gripping both of her wrists. Together, they were able to start pulling the giant back into a prone stance, but not enough to topple him.

Through his searing pain, Despero was able to notice that Supergirl was speeding towards him. The magenta mammoth roared, and shot one of his purple mental blasts at the Girl of Steel. The blast hit Supergirl, but simply dissipated harmlessly around her.

“Everyone scatter!” Alex shouted. The Super Friends all dove out of the way just as Supergirl smashed into Despero, driving him into the ground. Within seconds, Supergirl was hovering over him as the alien struggled with his newly fashioned collar. He grunted and growled, but no matter what he tried, the collar was on tight, and somehow able to withstand his might.

“Give up, Despero,” Supergirl ordered. “This is your one chance to leave Earth peacefully.”

Despero squinted up at the Girl of Steel, just a few feet above him. “Never!” he shouted. With a solid push, Despero launched himself into the air, crashing into Supergirl, sending them both hurtling through the air, trading punches with each other as they went. Eventually, Supergirl got one really good shot to Despero’s face, spiking him into the ground. She slowly fluttered down, landing gracefully a few yards away.

“You’re not stronger than me,” Supergirl boasted. “Without your mental powers, it’s just a matter of time until you wear down.”

The mighty magenta monster staggered to his feet. His hands were resting on his legs, holding himself up while he heaved, trying to take in as much air as possible. “That may be true, Supergirl, but as long as I can still stand, I will fight you, until my last breath,” he promised.

Deep down Kara knew Despero meant what he said. He’d keep coming. As long as he had an ounce of strength left. As long as there was oxygen in his lungs. Supergirl’s eyes narrowed as Despero began lumbering towards her. “Until your last breath, huh?” Kara breathed.

The idea clicked into place all at once, and Kara wasted no time. She launched herself at Despero, and as soon as she made contact, she wrapped him up, then arced her trajectory straight up.

“What are you doing?!” Despero shrieked, squirming in Kara’s arms.

“You told me your weakness,” Supergirl informed him. They were already over a mile above the city, and Supergirl showed no sign of slowing down. “All that bluster and anger, but you still need to breath.”

The goliath’s eyes went wide. He began doing all he could to shake himself free. Kara tightened her grip, and continued to climb.

Kara could feel the air thinning around them, and pretty soon, frost was starting to collect on her and Despero, not that it was the major problem. A minute later, Despero began gasping, and grabbing at his neck.

The one kink in her plan was that Kara also needed oxygen to breath. The power of the sun helped sustain her longer than most, but it was the middle of the night on this side of the planet. The helmet was like her own pocket of air that bought her a few extra seconds, but it wasn’t anywhere close to airtight. Regardless, Kara pushed through, determined to end this here and now. But not end Despero. Supergirl focused on him, doing her best to ignore her own shortness of breath. His breathing was becoming erratic, exactly what she wanted, and his heart was also still beating strong, another good sign.

They climbed. And climbed. And as Kara’s own fight with consciousness was getting iffy, she finally felt him go slack in her arms. She checked again, his heartbeat was still there, but in line with someone who was suffocating.

Way up high above the Earth, they came to a stop. Kara quickly pulled back, and nosedived back towards the ground. She quickly realized that the kink in her plan was a little more of a problem than she had hoped it would be. Concentrating was becoming impossible, as was focusing on where she was going while still holding onto the unconscious Despero.

Supergirl made a decision. She scanned down towards the ground, and pushed back the fogginess of her brain as much as she could to calculate what she needed to. And then, before haziness could take over, she hurled Despero down towards the Earth below.

* * *

It was like a magenta comet. Despero fell from the sky and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, less than a mile off the shore of National City.

J’onn J’onzz flew out to retrieve him. Once he got Despero back to the shore, Argus soldiers were waiting. They took the magenta man into custody. J’onn agreed to accompany them, where he’d be able to use his telepathy to keep Despero asleep until they got him back to an Argus facility that was already constructing a containment unit using specifications sent over by L-Corp.

While most celebrated, the Super Friends weren’t able to. The minutes passed after Despero reappeared, until it was a full half hour since his splashdown. Dread filled Alex, and Nia, and Brainiac 5 even as they tried helping the city get back to normal.

Because Supergirl was nowhere to be found.

* * *

The night air was crisp. A light breeze was blowing over the balcony of Lena’s office. Not long after her and Brainy had finished the devices to block Despero’s attacks, Lena had made her way back up to her office. She had told herself that it was to try to get at least some L-Corp work done after losing most of the day to Super Friends business.

That never happened.

All she’d done was nurse the now almost empty glass of scotch in her hand, and stand on the balcony, staring out at the city, worrying. Inside her office the monitor on the wall had the news on. She muted it a while ago, about the time they were reporting that Despero had been apprehended.

When she was younger, when every conversation with Lex would eventually end up being about Superman, way back when Lex’s obsession seemed more like infatuation than hate, Lena wondered what it must have been like to have a friend who risked their life every day. To have someone in your life that you just had to accept that any day could be the last day you ever saw them. And what if they were more than a friend? How did that change things? How much greater was the worry? How much stronger was the faith that they’d come back to you?

It was a thought exercise that Lena hadn’t thought about in years.

And she certainly never expected to be living it.

Most of the last two hours since Brainy left had been spent cursing Lena’s speed, or lack thereof. If she had just been faster developing the circlet, Kara could have been cured sooner, and she could have gotten to the lab earlier. If Lena had just been faster developing the device, maybe Kara could have left with it, safe from the start. If Lena had just recovered a little faster from the shock of hearing her best friend say… that, maybe she wouldn’t have left with a face that looked so broken hearted. Maybe she—

A loud buzzing shocked Lena from her emotional spiral. She took a few seconds to recollect herself, then rushed into the office to answer her phone intercom.

“Miss Luthor?” Jess called out over the speaker.

“Jess?” Lena questioned, dumbfounded. “Jess, what are you still doing here? It’s… Jesus, it’s almost ten o’clock.”

“You’re still here, Miss Luthor.”

Lena waved her free hand, not that Jess could see it. “That’s not necessary. Nine to five, that’s all that’s required.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“What did you need?” Lena asked, taking a swig from her glass.

“There’s someone here to see you. A reporter from CatC—”

“—Send her in!” Lena blurted out before Jess could finish.

“Right away, Miss Luthor.”

Lena was almost a little ashamed of how giddy she suddenly seemed. She quickly smoothed her clothes, the same lavender button-down and black slack combo she’d been wearing all day, and walked around her desk. She was doing everything she could to calm her heart down, hoping that Kara wasn’t sneaking a listen to its ceaseless pounding.

The office doors swung open. Lena couldn’t contain the wide grin that was already on her face. “Kara! I’m—” she began automatically.

“—Oh,” Lena drawled, stopping short. The grin on her face immediately soured.

“Oh, yourself,” Nia spat, standing just inside the office.

“My apologies,” Lena sighed, turning and walking back to her desk to take a seat. She slid down into her chair, leaning back with her legs crossed. “What can I do for you, Miss Nal.”

Nia wandered a little farther into the room, but didn’t take a seat, despite Lena gesturing to one of the chairs. “I think you already answered my question,” Nia sighed. “We’re looking for Kara, have you seen her?”

“Looking for her?” Lena gasped, snapping herself into an upright position. “Kara’s missing?” The brunette nodded. “For how long?”

“About two hours now. Since she fought Despero. We’re checking everywhere we think she could be. Nothing so far.”

“Have you checked CatCo?” Lena threw out before thinking.

The young hero’s face scrunched up as she rolled her eyes. “Oh, have I checked her place of work? What a  _ great  _ idea that we obviously never thought of!” Nia hissed with all the sarcasm she could muster.

“Sorry!” Lena said, throwing up a hand. “This is just very sudden for me, I wasn’t thinking clearly. What can I do to help?” she asked, rising to her feet.

“You? Nothing,” Nia scoffed.

The blunt rejection was unexpected, unsettling the Luthor. “Please, I want to help. I need to help. I’ll just sit here panicking if I don’t.”

“No,” Nia growled. She suddenly closed the distance between her and the desk. “You don’t get to be beside yourself with worry,” Nia huffed, leaning far enough over the desk to shove a finger into Lena’s chest. “Not after the way you’ve treated her.”

“I… I… What did she say?” Lena asked, voice quivering.

“That you rejected her! That she’s ruined her chance to even be your friend! Basically that you want nothing to do with her,” Nia yelled.

The force of the feisty brunette in front of her forced Lena back into her seat. She sat there, staring off at nothing in particular. “That’s what she thinks?” Lena mumbled.

“No one’s blaming you for not being in love with her,” Nia sighed. “A little surprised to be honest, but you can’t control what your heart feels… Trust me, I know that from experience. But to shut her out completely? After everything the two of you have been through, together? I don’t understand it.”

A weak chuckle came from Lena. “There may have been some miscommunication, earlier,” she said, still staring off at nothing.

“Yeah, well, I just hope she turns up so the two of you can sort out your ‘miscommunication’,” Nia snapped.

“As do I,” Lena sighed. She looked up at Nia, who, despite coming in determined to be mad and stay mad at Lena, couldn’t help but soften at the look of utter despair on the raven-haired woman’s face. She had no idea what was really going on between the two, but it was a certainty that the woman in front of Nia was just as upset as Nia was.

“I’ll let you know if we hear anything from Kara,” Nia assured her.

Lena gave a weak nod and a thank you in response. Without saying anything else, Nia turned to leave.

“Miss Nal, may I ask a question?” Lena called out suddenly before the brunette got to the door. Nia stopped and turned back, waiting. “The Despero devices, did they work?”

“Like a charm,” Nia said, a small smile on her face as she left.

When she was alone again, Lena leaned back in her chair, and covered her face with her hands. Somehow she felt even worse than she had just ten minutes ago. Worrying about Kara coming back to her was bad enough. Worrying about Kara being missing was next level.

One more swig finished off her glass of scotch. Lena slowly began rubbing her temple, trying to calm herself. At least she could take solace in the fact that the devices worked.

The devices worked.

They worked like a charm.

Kara used them, and they worked.

Kara used them.

Kara.

Lena suddenly shot up in her chair and woke her laptop up from its sleep. “Kara might be still wearing hers!” Lena excitedly chirped.

* * *

Nia was getting fidgety waiting for the elevator. She knew that it wasn’t the elevator that was bothering her, but at the moment, the elevator was the only place to direct her anger and fear. Hearing that ding was heavenly.

The young reporter instinctively began to step forward as the door was opening, having assumed that it would be empty at ten o’clock at night.

As it turned out, the person on the elevator had the same idea.

“Oh, sorry!” both Nia and Brainy said at the same time, colliding into one another.

“Nia Nal,” Brainy, back in his human appearance, yelped, his hands on her arms to help her balance herself, even though she was standing perfectly fine. “I am so sorry.”

“Not your fault, Brainy” Nia assured him. “I should have watched where I was going. Let passengers off first, elevator one oh one.”

“It is I that should have been paying more attention,” Brainy frowned. Nia couldn’t help but laugh at Brainiac 5 insisting on apologizing. It felt so familiar, so… comfortable. She looked down and swept a few strands of her hair back behind her ear as she giggled. In turn, Brainy began sheepishly laughing as he scratched the back of his head.

Their eyes met for a brief instant as they shared a laugh. After a moment, a ding grabbed their attention.

“My apologies, I seem to have made you miss your elevator,” Brainy said once the laughing died down.

Nia reached past the Coluan and pressed the down button. “Easy solution,” she smiled.

“Right, of course,” Brainy nodded, looking back at the button. He gave another nod, then began walking away, but only got two steps before turning back. “Nia Nal.”

“Yes?” Nia chirped far too quickly.

“What are you doing at L-Corp?” Brainy asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Nia softly said, her posture deflating a little at the very basic, but logical question.

“Oh, I was coming to ask Lena about her knowledge of the potential whereabouts of our friend, Kara,” Brainy stated.

“Beat you to it,” Nia admitted, giving Brainiac 5 a soft punch in the arm. “Great minds, I guess,” she jested, pointing back and forth between the two of them.

Brainy nodded, and smiled at Nia’s playfulness. “I see, it seems I have wasted my, and now your, time,” he concluded.

“Doesn’t feel like a waste of time,” Nia smiled. She could see the slightest redness on Brainy’s face. “Besides, Lena doesn’t know anything, but she could probably use a friend right now,” Nia encouraged.

A soft smile grew on Brainy’s face. “The ever thoughtful Nia Nal,” he breathed.

The two simply stared at one another for a moment, before it was interrupted by another ding. It was as if the arrival of the elevator suddenly pulled the two out of a trance. They both cleared their throats and began mumbling about getting back to what they were doing.

“Well, I guess this is me,” Nia squeaked, pointing at the opening elevator. Brainy wished her a good night, and turned back to leave. Each step he took felt like a struggle as his eyelids fell shut. To settle himself, Brainy tried taking long, deep breaths.

Nia climbed onto the elevator, and let herself fall against the back wall, the act of slamming into it pushing a puff of air out of her. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the rhythm of the sound of the doors slowly closing.

Until the noise stopped short.

The brunette’s eyes shot open. In front of her was Brainiac 5, one hand on each edge of the elevator doorway, holding it open.

For once, Brainiac 5 was doing something he hadn’t thoroughly thought through, which terrified him. But all his thinking and planning and intellect hadn’t gotten him anywhere. Maybe it was time for a new tactic.

“May I buy you a deli!” Brainy blurted out.

It… was probably the last thing Nia had expected to hear. Her head cocked to the side as she glared at Brainy as if he had suddenly sprouted wings. “Um, what?”

“I mean,” Brainy stammered, shaking his head. “May I buy you lunch. At a deli. At Marco’s Deli.”

A warm smile grew on Nia’s face. “I love that place,” she murmured.

“Best pastrami sandwich in National City, according to Nia Nal,” Brainy smiled. Nia giggled and nodded, but didn’t say anything, she just stood there, leaning against the wall and returning Brainy’s small smile.

“I cannot fix it,” Brainy continued. The statement made Nia raise an eyebrow again. “That is, I cannot fix what we had. I have searched and searched for a way to, but in the end, there is nothing I can do to fix it. But… But I can buy you a pastrami sandwich. From Marco’s Deli. For lunch. And then… see what will happen next.”

There was a giant smile painted on Nia’s face. She couldn’t help it. There was no solution in Brainiac 5’s offer, but that may have been what she loved the most about it. “I’d love to go to lunch with you, Brainy.”

“Yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Excellent,” Brainy said, tapping his hand against the doorway, but otherwise remaining calm. “Tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

“Good,” the Coluan responded. “Tomorrow then.” Nia nodded in agreement.

Content, Brainy let go of the elevator door and backed away to let it close. He once again turned towards the hallway leading to Lena’s office, a feeling of hope that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

After going all of two steps, Brainy suddenly felt something grab him by the arm and spin him around. When he came to a stop, he was face to face with Nia, who was just inches away. Her eyes were searching his, until it seemed she found what she was looking for, and pulled him into a kiss.

There was a moment, infinite in length while at the same time being all too finite, where only Nia Nal and Querl Dox existed in the entire universe.

Some time later, perhaps a few seconds, perhaps a few days, the two pulled apart slightly and simply gazed into each other’s eyes, silly grins on their faces.

Eventually, Brainiac 5 broke the silence. Of all the profound comments he could have made in the moment, he went with, “It seems you’ve missed another elevator.”

Nia couldn’t help but laugh at the Coluan. Her Coluan. “There’ll be more.”

* * *

_ Words were a very important aspect of Kara’s life. She was quite proud of the fact that she had managed to defeat as many of her foes by appealing to their hearts and humanity as she had with her fists. Then there was her job as a journalist, which entirely revolved around using words to bring the truth to her readers. Words were Kara’s life. _

_ Which is why she found it so ironic that her words always seemed to fail her when it came to her best friend. So many times Kara had tried to tell Lena about her secret. There were so many opportunities, but each time, her words failed her until the moment was lost. There was something poetic about finally being able to find those words on the night that Kara was being honored for her expert use of words. _

_ For a brief period, Kara thought she had finally solved her problem with words when it came to Lena. Her best friend knew her secret, had forgiven her for it, leaving them free and open and able to grow their friendship farther than ever before. _

_ Until words failed Kara, once again. _

_ At some point, sometime while flying all over the world to gleefully spoil her best friend, while breaking into a military installation just so Lena might sleep better, while her words tumbled out of her uncontrolled and awkwardly promising Lena to teach her about “secret handshakes” (that don’t exist), Kara realized that everytime she thought about Lena, or saw Lena, or talked to Lena, she was starting to feel something. _

_ Something that she just couldn’t put a word to. _

_ Except that was a lie. The truth was that Kara was scared to put a word to it.  _

_ It had always been there, hazy, dull in the back of her mind, hidden safely behind the giant House of El shaped wall that was her Supergirl secret. As long as she kept her secret from Lena, that hazy, nondescript… thing, was securely locked away. _

_ But that wall was gone now, and wow did it crash into her that night at the DEO. The Luthor had just helped them defeat Malefic, and it was just her and Kara. She did something to make Lena laugh, and suddenly Kara couldn’t stop the nonsense that was pouring out of her mouth. Whatever it took to keep that smile on Lena’s face, to see those dimples for just a few more seconds. Kara only vaguely remembered even asking her out for drinks, but distinctly remembered the disappointment of Lena turning down the offer. Later that night, when Kara was out with all her friends at Al’s, she tried to be in the moment with them. The truth, though, was that with each sip of Aldebaran rum, Kara found it harder and harder to think about anything other than her lips pressed against the birthmark on the center of Lena’s neck. _

_ Love. _

_ Such a simple word. Four letters. One syllable. It had utterly demolished the Girl of Steel. _

_ Which left Kara with a  _ new  _ secret that she was keeping from her best friend. A secret that once again left Kara at a loss for words around Lena. She knew this wouldn’t be another multi-year build up to the truth, though. Not this time. Her heart wouldn’t survive. But that was about the time that Leviathan began wrecking havoc, leaving Kara little time to focus on building up the nerve to have a heart to heart with Lena. The few chances she had, her words once again utterly failed her. _

_ With each encounter that ended with her words left unsaid, Kara felt more and more lost. She didn’t want to talk to her friends about it. There was no doubt that they’d be supportive, but Kara also had no doubt that as soon as she told them, it would be the only thing they wanted to talk to her about. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that just yet. Still, Kara wasn’t getting anywhere and she needed to talk to  _ someone  _ about it, so she did what a lot of people would. _

_ She went home. _

_ It was a bright, sunny afternoon in Midvale. One thing that Eliza Danvers had become accustomed to over the last sixteen years was that no matter how far away she was, her adopted daughter could always pop in for a visit at any moment. Not that Eliza minded, she was always happy to see her children. _

_ From the moment that Kara floated down into Eliza’s backyard where she was hanging laundry out to dry, the elder woman knew that there was something heavy hanging over her daughter, but she didn’t pry, not at first, at least. Instead, she took Kara’s cue, and happily caught up with Kara while she helped Eliza finish the laundry. _

_ An hour of breezy work and even breezier banter later, the two women found themselves at the small, round table in the middle of the kitchen. Kara sat patiently, her head resting in her hands as she propped herself up on the table with her elbows, watching Eliza pull the whistling kettle off of the stove burner. She gently ground her elbows into the light blue finish on the table, and smiled. So many morning conversations, so many evening confessions. Every inch of that table was full of memories, so many Kara could hardly count, and those were just her own. The table had been on Earth longer than Kara had been, spending years witnessing the growing Danvers family lore. If there was a place where Kara could find her words to talk about what she was feeling, it would be over this old, stained table. _

_ Much like the rest of the day, Eliza was trying not to push her daughter, but she could tell that the youngest Danvers might need an encouraging nudge. _

_ “So,” Eliza began as she set a large, steaming mug in front of Kara. She took a seat just to the blonde’s side, and began bobbing the tea bag up and down in the hot water of her mug. “Kara, sweetie, you know I love it whenever you come to visit,” she continued, taking a sip of the tea, and letting out a lip smacking sound of satisfaction. “But somehow I doubt you came all this way just to help me with chores.” _

_ For a moment, Kara remained silent as she leaned back in the creaky chair. Her hands found their way to the mug, and pulled it to her lips. Before it got even close, Kara could make out the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg coming from the piping hot mug. A small sip left a thin smile on the blonde’s face as she licked the remains of the apple spice tea off of her lips. _

_ “There’s… someone,” Kara sighed, her mug pulled close to her chest. “Someone special to me. Someone… different. Someone that makes me feel different. Someone...” Kara let her thought trail off as she took another long sip from her mug. _

_ “...That makes your heart flutter in ways you didn't realize it could until you met them,” Eliza offered. Kara slowly nodded, sluggish in letting the truth spill out of her. A soft smile was pointed at Kara as Eliza patted Kara’s knee. “Well I think we can work with that.” _

_ “First thing’s first,” Eliza announced confidently, sitting up in her chair. “He?” Kara looked up at the question, a puzzled expression on her face. _

_ “She?” Eliza continued. “Perhaps, they?” _

_ The line of questioning left Kara’s mouth hanging open as she stared wide-eyed at her adoptive mother. Eliza simply continued smiling, soft and welcoming. _

_ Kara’s mouth opened and closed a few times before any words finally came out. “W-what? H-how?!” she stammered. “You know?!” the Kryptonian finally blurted out. _

_ Eliza let out of soft chuckle. “I… suspected for a long time. And then, there was that one Spring break during sophomore year.” The elder paused, her eyes searching her daughter’s, waiting for it to click in. _

_ Finally, Kara’s eyelids shut as she grunted and nodded her head. “The year I brought Barb home for break.” _

_ “You introduced her to us as your friend, so we never pried deeper,” Eliza added, taking a sip of her tea. “But I saw the way you looked at her.” _

_ There was a brief silence as Kara recollected herself. “You never said anything,” the blonde murmured. _

_ “Wasn’t my place to,” Eliza said with a firm head shake. _

_ “Are you mad?” Kara meekly asked. _

_ “Of course not!” Eliza was quick to say. Her hand reached along the edge of the table, coming to a rest on Kara’s wrist. “How could I be mad? It was your truth to share or not. I knew you would talk to me about it when you were ready to.” _

_ “I… I think I am,” Kara said with a faint smile. Her hand twisted under Eliza’s until she was able to give her mother’s a squeeze. “Talking’s actually my problem right now.” At that announcement, Eliza gave her a quizzical look. “I can’t seem to do it around her. No matter how many times I try, I just can’t bring myself to tell her how I feel,” Kara muttered over the edge of her mug. “Whenever I try to, it all just gets caught in my throat,” she added bitterly. _

_ A soft laugh escaped Eliza. “Oh, dear, it sounds pretty serious. How close have you gotten to this mystery girl?” she asked. Kara’s only response was to bite her lip. “I see. Serious indeed.” _

_ For a moment, Eliza sat there, letting the steam and fragrance of her tea waft up into her nose, enjoying pleasant notes of apple and cinnamon. Her eyelids were heavy as the older blonde appeared lost in thought. Then, with a light hum, Eliza set her tea down and strolled into the living room without saying a word. _

_ Kara wasn’t sure if she was supposed to follow or not, opting to track her mother’s movements with her x-ray vision. After a moment in the living room, Eliza turned back around, making Kara sit up straight suddenly and push her glasses up, as if she had been caught, even though there was no way Eliza could see her from her position in the living room. _

_ A few seconds later, Eliza returned to the kitchen and retook her seat. In her hands was a wooden box, slightly smaller than a shoebox. An array of scratches, smudges, and stains painted a story of a container that had seen many, many years. Eliza set it on the table and flipped the lid up. She rummaged around in it for a second, until she fished out a keychain that she handed to Kara. It was very old, with the metal parts showing plenty of signs of rust. The plastic piece of the keychain had a picture of a teddy bear, partially scratched off from years of use. _

_ “Cute,” Kara replied, letting the keychain dangle in front of her. “I… don’t get it.” _

_ “During my senior year at MU, I received an internship from LuthorCorp,” Eliza began, but paused at the sight of her daughter scrunching up her face. “This was a long time ago, sweetie, Lex was just a baby, and all LuthorCorp was known for was being one of the most cutting edge companies around.” _

_ “Right, sorry!” Kara yelped, her cheeks going red with embarrassment. _

_ “It’s fine,” Eliza chuckled. “Anyway, it was mostly just being a helper in the lab. Inputting data into computers, cataloging things, that kind of stuff. Four days a week I’d show up around four in the afternoon, spend the next five hours hunched over a very archaic computer that had been set up in the corner. I was alone most days, only seeing anyone else during my breaks. It was a pretty steady routine for the first month or so. _

_ “Until one day, when I came into the lab, that was sitting on my keyboard,” Eliza said, pointing at the keychain. “It had a little bow on it, but that was it. No note, no one seemed to know who had put it there. A couple days later, I came into a pack of Twinkies,” Eliza stated, getting a small laugh out of Kara. The elder blonde began pulling out more trinkets from the box: a couple more keychains, buttons, even a little teddy bear magnet. Kara ran her fingers over the small pile of stuff, most looking every day of their age. _

_ When Kara looked up from the pile, wide eyed and smiling, she was met with a very introspective face from Eliza. Kara’s mother was staring at the last thing she pulled out of the box: a necklace. It was a simple, gold chain with a heart-shaped locket. Nothing about it looked expensive, but Kara could tell from Eliza’s eyes, it was priceless. _

_ Eliza looked up, beaming at Kara. “Jeremiah was scared to ask me out. We had developed a nice rapport over many cups of coffee in the breakroom, and he was afraid of ruining it. So he started leaving me gifts, little tokens of affection. Snacks, trinkets. Small, benign things. Until this,” she said, taking Kara’s hand and dropping the necklace into it. _

_ “I found it on my desk, in a small box. Like with every gift, when I saw it, I spun around, but unlike every other time, Jeremiah was standing in the doorway, looking absolutely petrified.” _

_ Kara ran her thumb over the necklace that was piled up in her palm. “I’m going to assume it worked,” she said, breathless and focused on the necklace. She appreciated the simplicity of the locket, the smoothness of the metal rounded into a heart shape. A clear intent, but not gaudy or overstated. For all of the bombast and fanfare of her Supergirl life, and perhaps because of that, when it came to love, Kara preferred things a lot more subdued. Kara was tickled by the idea that this was a family trait. _

_ With one more pass of her thumb over the necklace, Kara held her hand out for Eliza to take the necklace back. Instead, Eliza pushed the errant part of the chain that had spilled out of Kara palm back into it, and closed Kara’s fingers around the necklace. _

_ They sat there, the necklace in Kara’s closed fist, with both of Eliza’s hands covering the fist, a loving smile focused on the Kryptonian. “There are lots of ways to tell someone how you feel besides just words, Kara,” Eliza assured her. “Your father told me how he felt without saying anything. If you can’t figure out how to tell her how you feel, then show her.” _

_ Overwhelmed, Kara jumped out of her seat and wrapped Eliza up in a tight, almost suffocating hug. _

_ From then on, Kara carried the necklace around with her. Kara felt sure she was already past the trinket portion of gift giving. She’d given Lena a Super Watch, and had crossed the globe for scones and coffee and crumpets and even a kale smoothie from one specific café in Greece that the internet assured Kara was “the best kale smoothie in the world.” It was time to show Lena how she felt, she just needed to find the right moment. _

_ And soon enough, the right moment presented itself, Kara was sure of it. Nothing like she was expecting, but it felt perfect. _

_ It was just the two of them, alone in one of Kara’s favorite places on Earth, the Fortress of Solitude. Lena was taken by the fortress, marveling at its many wonders; all the while Kara was busy marveling at her. Not even an attack from Leviathan could damper Kara’s mood. She was here, with Lena, getting to share this side of herself, enjoying each other’s company while they worked together, and laughed together. Kara had never felt closer to Lena than she did in that moment. _

_ Lena had wandered off to explore the fortress, which was just fine by Kara; it gave her time to collect herself. She fished the necklace out of her back compartment, and held it up. The gold sparkled under the fortress’ lighting. Kara took a deep satisfying breath and stuffed the necklace just under the cuff of her suit, a closed fist around it so Lena couldn’t see it until Kara wanted her to. Everything felt right. If it was anymore “right” there would have been blue birds flying around the fortress singing. One more deep breath for the nerves, and Kara went to go find her best friend. _

_ That’s when it all turned. Kara found Lena, but not the happy Lena she was expecting, she found the angry Lena. The real Lena. The Lena that called Kara a liar. The Lena that shot her brother for Kara. The Lena that didn’t believe Kara had ever been truthful with her. _

_ The real Lena, that one that hated Kara. _

_ With every accusation. With every angry confession. With every tear that fell down Lena’s face. With every tear that fell down her own face, Kara clenched her fists tighter and tighter. _

_ So much of that moment was a blur. She could still hear Lena’s shrill cries of rage, of betrayal, but Kara couldn’t remember a lot of the words. Most of what Kara had said herself was lost to her. And she certainly didn’t know just how long she sat in the Kryptonite trap, stewing in her own anguish until Alex came and got her. _

_ The next thing she even remembered was sitting on the sun lamp bed at the DEO, with no clue how she even got there. She was on the edge of the bed, feet dangling over the side. Her body felt numb, and her insides felt like they were being fed through a meat grinder, and none of it had anything to do with the Kryptonite. _

_ As she sat there, heartbroken, Kara remembered the necklace. It was still in her fist, she could feel it. A sob escaped her at the thought of it. Slowly, she held up her fist and opened it. At the sight of it, Kara couldn’t help but let out an angry laugh, wet and raspy and followed by a sniffle. All the fist clenching had taken its toll. _

_ In the center of Kara’s palm sat what she had meant to be a symbol of her affection for Lena, now mangled and crushed into a simple, smooth golden metal ball. _

* * *

**Hey. Don’t worry, I’m alive. --K**

**WAY PAST THE DON’T WORRY STAGE, KARA! WHERE ARE YOU?! --A**

**Alex, I’m fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. --K**

**Tomorrow my ass. Kara, where are you?! --A**

**Kara? --A**

**Kara, I’m not mad. I just think that after everything today, the last thing you should be is alone. --A**

**Kara? --A**

Cloud storage was a marvel, allowing all your pictures, conversations, contacts, just about everything important on a phone, to be easily transferred from one device to the next. Kara appreciated cloud storage a great deal. She had sent Alex her last text message, then crushed her phone and threw it as hard as she could, just in case Alex got any funny business about using it to track the Kryptonian. She loved her sister. Adored her, but tonight she just wanted some solitude.

Far away from downtown, from L-Corp and Catco and the Tower and all of her friends, on the far end of the sprawling city, Kara sat on a rooftop, some thirty stories high. In front of her was National City, the home she loved, filled with most of the people she cared about. Yet, tonight it all felt empty.

In her hand, Kara was turning the gold metal ball over and over, watching it as it rolled along the crease in her palm. It was a persistent trinket. After the Fortress of Solitude, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. So Kara had left it in one of her coat pockets, and did all she could to not think about it. But, as luck would have it, it just happened to be the coat she grabbed on the day that the Monitor arrived on Earth-38, what ended up being Earth-38’s last day. So the gold ball followed Kara onto the Waverider, across time and space and the collapse of the multiverse, and was waiting for her in her pocket when she woke up on Earth-Prime. As if the multiverse itself needed Kara to always remember that Lena Luthor did not love her.

A familiar beat made Kara snap her hand around the metal ball. If she had been paying more attention she would have noticed that familiar heartbeat much sooner. Currently it was entering the building Kara was sitting on the roof of.

Part of Kara wanted to fly away before she was caught. But some small part of her wouldn’t let herself move. Of all the people to come looking for her, it was the person she least expected, but most hoped, that had found her.

* * *

Lena found herself in an elevator in an office building on the other side of the city. In her mind, the security had been far too lax for her liking. All she had to do to get past it was tell them her name, and they let her right in. She didn’t even have to prove it. Then there was the matter of this not even being a building she owned, she wasn’t even sure why being “Lena Luthor” would give her access. That’s just the level of security one got for a mostly empty high-rise with just a couple of start-ups on the bottom three floors, she supposed. A small smile grew on her face at the thought of the karma of it all.

The elevator let Lena off on the top floor. A small jaunt down the hall led her to the maintenance stairwell, which she took up to the roof. With each step she could feel her heart pounding faster and faster. Lena paused at the door. She knew it was silly. No doubt Kara already knew she was there. A part of Lena wondered if the Kryptonian would be on the other side of the door when she opened it, or if she had fled already. She took a deep breath, and opened the door.

It was an average rooftop. The hum of machines that ran many of the building’s utilities, a few exhaust pipes sticking out of the smooth concrete surface, and a small wall that ran around the edges of the roof. On the wall directly across from the roof doorway was Supergirl, facing out towards the night, her legs dangling over the side of the building.

Lena approached her slowly, as if one sudden move would scare her away as if she was a bird. With each step, Lena grew a little bolder, a little more hopeful, until she was just behind Supergirl. All of that boldness drained as the Luthor opened and closed her mouth a couple times without any sounds coming out. It wasn’t until Kara turned around slightly to flash Lena a soft smile that she felt like she could even breath again. Lena very carefully sat down on the edge of the roof next to Kara, their legs dangling together just a few inches apart.

Neither spoke for some time.

Instead, they both, for their own reasons, enjoyed each other’s silent company.

Kara was the first one to break the silence after a handful of minutes.

“How did you find me?” the Kryptonian asked, eyes straight ahead, staring out at the city.

For a second, Lena didn’t answer. She glanced at Kara, then looked around the roof behind them until she found the anti-Despero headphones, and held them up.

“They give off a very distinct power signature. I simply tracked it,” Lena said. Kara hummed in response, nodding at the raven-haired woman’s resourcefulness.

“May I ask a question?” Lena meekly asked.

The softness of her voice disarmed Kara, even more than she thought it would. “Of course.”

“Why here?” Lena asked, perking up a little bit as her genuine curiosity was getting the better of her. “Why did you choose this building, of all the buildings in the city.”

What Lena wasn’t expecting from Kara was for her cheeks to flush, or for her to do a bashful head dip right after glancing at Lena. She turned back to Lena’s direction, but didn’t quite make eye contact, then bit her lip.

“On Earth-1, this was the LuthorCorp building,” Kara admitted.

The response got a chuckle from the raven-haired woman, much to Kara’s surprise. “How ironic,” Lena said. “This was the building I wanted for L-Corp when I was moving to National City, but the owners didn’t want to sell it to me. They were afraid of how it’d look, doing business with a Luthor.”

Both women began to laugh. “Their loss,” Kara chuckled.

“Okay, next question,” Lena ventured, feeling a little more comfortable. “I gather that Earth-1 was another dimension. What “Earth” were we?”

“Thirty eight.”

“Thirty eight?! Well that’s bullshit!” Lena protested. Kara bellowed out a hearty laugh, unprepared for Lena’s indignation. “Who decided that?”

“You know, I don’t know honestly,” Kara conceded. “Probably Barry? He’s the one that told me about the multiverse and all the numbers.”

“Well, wait until I get ahold of this ‘Barry’, I’m going to file a formal complaint. We may all be on the same Earth now but there’s nothing prestigious about being from ‘Earth-38’!” Lena loudly proclaimed.

Kara snickered at Lena, who seemed amusingly offended by this apparent slight.

“Good luck getting a hold of him. He  _ is  _ the fastest man alive,” Kara said with a knowing smile.

A thoughtful look came over the Luthor for a moment as she processed that information. “His poor wife,” she finally mumbled.

“LENA!” Supergirl screamed, toppling onto her side with laughter. The raven-haired woman was laughing heartily as well, mostly amused by Kara’s pronounced reaction. Lena cleared her throat when she saw something shining on the roof just behind them.

“What’s this,” Lena wondered aloud as she held up the small golden ball.

“What’s wha—” Kara began, her attention slowly dragging to what Lena was holding up as she fought through her laughing fit. Everything seemed to stop when Kara saw Lena holding the golden ball. Suddenly all Kara could hear was the pounding of her own heart in her chest. She could feel just how dry her lips were. “Oh. That. That’s nothing,” Kara gulped, gently pulling it free from Lena’s grip.

Sensing the sudden and extreme shift in Kara’s mood, Lena seemed to shrink, feeling supremely guilty. She moved her arm, reaching out for Kara’s back, but thought better of it. “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

For a moment, Kara held it out in front of her. “It’s alright,” Kara sighed, her eyelids falling shut. “It’s… It’s just a reminder of a truth that I keep forgetting,” she said with a slight sniffle.

“It’s from Earth-38, actually. Miraculously made the journey with me.”

In the moment, Lena decided that putting her arm on Kara’s back was worth any risk, placing it gently just under her shoulder blade.

“After we fought in the Fortress of Solitude, I decided to visit Earth-1,” Kara whispered, wrapping her fingers around the ball. “I just needed to get away, to go somewhere I could clear my head in peace. It was mostly recognizable to our own Earth, with some notable differences. No Kryptonians, for one. I… I don’t actually know what happened to Kal and I, or to Krypton, but we never made it to Earth. Truth is that’s why I went there. I just wanted to see, had to see, a version of you that didn’t hate me,” Kara said with a loud sob.

The loud noise made Lena tighten her grip on the Kryptonian sitting next to her while she shuffled even closer, removing what distance there was between them.

“I’m so sorry that Earth-1 wasn’t the version that came to this Earth. For your sake, I really wish it was,” Kara whimpered.

“Why would I ever want that version? You weren’t there,” Lena wondered.

Kara shook her head. “You were so happy. I met the Earth-1 version of you. It turns out no Superman arriving on Earth all those years ago was a huge ripple effect for your family. Without it, Lex was a good man, the two of you ran LuthorCorp together, developing technologies to help the world.” The blonde paused. She looked up at Lena, making eye contact for the first time. To Lena’s surprise, despite the tears, Kara was smiling, that warm, welcoming smile that made Lena’s entire body tingle. “I got to talk to you. You had no idea who I was, which was probably for the best. You were married. I don’t know who to. You seemed so happy… And you were blonde for some reason,” Kara chuckled. Lena joined in at the mere idea of being blonde.

“She had everything you ever wanted,” Kara murmured, followed by another sniffle as she hung her head again.

“No she didn’t,” Lena stated, loud and bold.

Such a confident proclamation made Kara’s eyes snap back to Lena’s. Her blues gazed into the green ones just across from her. It left Kara feeling light headed as she fell into their emerald depths, basking the Kryptonian in warmth, and comfort… 

...And love.

“ _ I _ have everything I’ve ever wanted, not her,” Lena asserted, before leaning forward, slow and sure, until her lips met Kara’s.

For just a second, Kara froze, shock washing over her. But it was just for a second. Lena’s lips felt so soft, she was so warm, so perfect. Kara let out a small whimper as she began kissing back enthusiastically, with enough force to slightly push Lena backwards. The Luthor’s hands shot up to cup Kara’s face, her thumbs brushing over her cheeks. Kara pulled Lena in, wrapping her arm tightly around Lena’s waist, while her other hand gently caressed the base of Lena’s neck, her fingers playing with the short hairs there.

A husky moan escaped Lena as Kara slid her tongue across Lena’s teeth, asking for entrance. The Luthor freely gave it.

Every dream, every fantasy Kara had ever had about this moment paled in comparison to the real thing. All the hugs, all the nights hanging out on couches together, somehow none of it had prepared Kara for just how soft, how warm, Lena felt like this. She hadn’t been able to imagine how perfectly their lips felt pressed together, or how comfortably Lena’s body fit against her own.

It was perfect.

Better than.

It felt like they were floating.

Actually…

“Kara!” Lena gasped, suddenly pulling out of their kiss as her arms flung around Kara’s head.

The Kryptonian’s eyes fluttered open. She looked down and laughed. “Oh goodness! Sorry!” she chuckled. Both of her arms slid down and wrapped around Lena’s lower back, holding her tightly as they floated some twenty feet over the rooftop. “I have you.”

Lena looked up at Kara, comfortable in her arms, and frowned.

“I am so, so sorry that I froze in the lab,” Lena sniffled. “I was just so shocked. After everything, it was the last thing I expected.

“...But, I shouldn’t have let you leave without saying anything.” One of Lena’s arms pulled in so her hand could cradle the side of Kara’s face. “I shouldn’t have let you leave without telling you… that I love you too,” Lena confessed, leaning in slightly.

Kara was quick to close the rest of the distance for another kiss, this one filled with giggles and playful pecks.

“I love you, Kara Danvers. I really do,” Lena cooed.

“I love you too, Lena Luthor,” Kara responded, placing a kiss on her forehead.

The raven-haired woman nuzzled her forehead into the kiss, and let out a happy sigh.

There was a pause, the two women resting in the moment, enjoying the feeling of each other’s arms tangled around them. As the silence went on, Lena’s frown returned.

“After Lex told me your secret,” Lena began, her head buried in Kara’s chest, not able to bring herself to look into those gentle blue eyes that were peering down at her. “I was so angry. I let him manipulate me into believing the very worst. I let him convince me that he was the only person that actually cared about me.” Lena’s fingers buried themselves further into Kara’s hair. Desperate to hold on, and terrified that the Kryptonian would push her away. “It hurt so much because… because I’ve loved you for a long time. And I convinced myself that you didn’t even care.” Slowly, Lena forced herself to look up, her wet, green eyes peering into blue ones that to her surprise, were still full of love and warmth. “I am so sorry that I didn’t trust you. That I wasn’t willing to believe you for so long.”

Another gentle kiss was placed on Lena’s cheek, pulling a whimper out of the Luthor. “Love can make us do crazy things, huh.” Kara shifted slightly to let all of Lena’s weight fall on one arm, as she raised the other to caress Lena’s cheek, wiping away her tears. The raven-haired woman leaned into the touch.

"We’ve both managed to hurt each other,” Kara breathed. “From here on out, though, no more ‘sorries’. From either of us.”

Lena met those gorgeous blue eyes again, and smiled. “Time to move forward,” Lena murmured. Supergirl nodded with a giggle.

A couple minutes passed, the both of them content with simply floating in the air and trading soft kisses, and softer whispers.

After a while, Lena laid her head against Kara’s chest, and let out a contented hum. “What now?”

“Now, it being almost midnight, and the end of a long, long day, now I ask you if you'll let me take you home,” Kara chirped.

Those green eyes looked up to meet her radiant blue. “Only if you promise to stay,” Lena asked with a husky whisper, her eyes full of love, and a little bit of deviance.

The question made Kara blush, but nevertheless a wide smile grew on her face. It was an open invitation to spend the night together, Kara knew that. The very idea excited her so much that she felt like a cartoon character that was about to turn into a rocket and shoot off into space from the sheer adrenaline. But Kara couldn’t help but feel like it was a question for more than just that. After everything. The years of friendship. The nights falling asleep on couches together, or staying up to all hours talking. The lunch dates. The game nights. The lingering moments. The almosts. The not quites. The everything that led them to this moment, hovering in the air, wrapped up in each other’s embrace. Lena was asking her for a promise. To be with her. To love her. To stay with her. To be her future. To come back to her, always.

It was maybe the easiest question Kara ever had to answer.

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic got its name from [_Clarity,_](https://youtu.be/IxxstCcJlsc) by Zedd. Does it fit entirely? IDK, but I liked it. And I hope you like it too :D

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Big Belly Yeet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26888917) by [DivergentDemigodWiz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivergentDemigodWiz/pseuds/DivergentDemigodWiz)




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